April 2017 Archives

Jamaica's minister of national security, Robert Montague, revealed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday that artistes behind bars can no longer record music illegally.

Montague, has declared that the days of music being illegally recorded in the island's prison system are over.

In making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Wednesday, Montague said the Department of Correctional Services has "stopped the recording of songs illegally".

Commissioner of Corrections, Ina Hunter also revealed last month that the department has an open investigation into claims that Vybz Kartel has been recording music in prison, but so far there is no evidence to back up the claims.

However, Minister Montague, is there a way that entertainers can record legally behind bars? After all, on correctional facility has a fully functional recording studio, so what is the purpose of that?

Alkaline has issued an apology to his fans in the UK following the cancellation of his concert earlier this week.

The Vendetta leader boss was scheduled to perform at a sold out-show at the O2 Academy in Brixton, but organizers were forced to pull the plug on the show after the deejay's fans reportedly got totally out of control. Some fans broke through a security barrier and made their way inside the venue injuring one female.

Reports are that some fans didn't want to pay and even after the venue had reached its official capacity, they were still finding ways and means to reach inside.

Alkaline's management have since stated that artiste is disappointed that he didn't get to perform for his fans and is looking forward to coming back to the city for a performance.

"We apologize to all our fans who came out to see Alkaline at the O2 Brixton Academy," a statement reads. "It was an unfortunate situation, as the artiste himself was disappointed, he was ready to perform for his fans. However, as a result of failure to control the crowd, and the assessment of potential damages, the event could not go on and for this, we apologize to the fans and all who were affected as a result."

There is no word yet on a rescheduled date for the concert. Alkaline is gearing up for a big performance at the upcoming 2017 Reggae Sumfest in July.

The original version of Loodi, featuring Vybz Kartel alone disappeared from his Vevo channel and was replaced by a new single Remember Me, produced by Zj Chrome.

This comes after the video, which was uploaded yesterday, caused much controversy, after it was disclosed under the upload that the song was never a collaboration.

This news sent social media and industry insiders into a frenzy, more so fans of the incarcerated Dancehall artiste, who stormed to Shenseea's page to express anger at her stealing Kartel's song.

Shenseea and her manager Romeich have done a number of interviews to clear up the issue. In this interview done yesterday and uploaded to Youtube, Shenseea says she was asked by the producer to modify the lyrics of the original version.

Students and teachers at Merl Grove High School on Constant Spring Road ran for their lives on Friday afternoon when gunshots erupted and disrupted the normal hum of life.

Distraught students were convinced that this was a school shooting because, as they told YardFlex, the gunshots sounded like they were on the school compound. Those who were standing at the bus shed scampered in all directions, fleeing from the shots.

When the smoke cleared, a policeman lay dead uner the bus shed, his life snuffed out by an alleged robber.

Reports are that the policeman, identified as Constable Leighton Hanson, was responding to reports of suspicious men at certain premises when he was attacked by one of them.

An investigator at the scene said the cop was disarmed by the man and shot once in the head.

His attacker was shot by other policemen.

Both were taken to a medical facility where the cop was pronounced dead.

Motorists were advised to avoid Constant Spring Road in the vicinity of the Merl Grove High School where the shooting took place.

The robber who reportedly disarmed a police constable along Constant Spring Road in St Andrew and murdered him on Friday afternoon is dead. The man reportedly succumbed to his injuries while being treated in hospital.

Head of the Andrew North Police Superintendent Meveral Smith says the attacker was shot and injured after killing the policeman, identified as Constable Leighton Hanson at the bus stop at Merl Grove High School in St Andrew.

According to one report, Constable Hanson was investigating reports of a robbery and stabbing incident on a bus in the vicinity of the Merl Grove High School. While the man was being searched by Hanson, he grabbed the policeman and engaged him in a tussle. The attacker grabbed the policeman's gun and shot him on the head, killing him.

After the shooting, the area was cordoned off chaos ensued as traffic piled up in all directions, creating a gridlock on Constant Spring Road, certain sections of Red Hills Road and roads leading off.

CMC is reporting that at least 12 Trinidad and Tobago nationals are due to arrive home on Friday after they were deported from Turkey, but the police say they have no indication as to whether or not they are linked to nationals travelling to the Middle East to fight for the terrorist group, ISIS.

"We expect 12 persons who are reportedly deported from Turkey. They will be escorted here by Turkish agents. We do have information regarding some of the 12 persons, some of the information we have to verify. We have had limited information from the Turkish authorities," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police, Wayne Dick.

He told a news conference that while the 12 nationals 'at this point" will not be arrested" since they would be considered just "12 persons who are deported from Turkey".

"We have limited information from the Turkish authorities and we are hoping when they get here through continued efforts and investigations, we will learn why they have been deported," he said.

Last August, a Turkish newspaper reported that nine Trinidad and Tobago nationals were detained after the police nabbed a Syrian man suspected of attempting to smuggle them into southern Turkey to join the ISIS terrorist organisation.

The "Daily Sabah" reported that the police had stopped a car with a license plate from southern Mersin province when it entered south-central Adana province with 10 people, including the driver and nine Trinidad and Tobago citizens.

The paper reported that after an initial probe, police found the Syrian man, Asem H, was trying to take the Trinidad and Tobago nationals to the war-torn country, where they would have been recruited by ISIS.

The Syrian suspect was remanded in custody after an appearance at a local court, while the nine Trinidad and Tobago nationals were transferred to Adana Provincial Migration Management for deportation procedures, the report said.

Police officers have been assured that justifiable use of force will be defended but Commissioner Quallo was keen to point out that he would not tolerate the abuse of ordinary citizens.

"Let's be clear, I will not stand for, or defend any of you my colleagues who wantonly abuse the rights of the citizens we swear to protect and serve," he declared. That's the promise from George Fitzroy Quallo, the 29th Commissioner of Police.

He was officially installed during a ceremony at the Police Officers Club on Hope Road in St. Andrew this afternoon.

The new commissioner argued that in some instances, the use of force would be required, especially in dealing with hardened criminals, and he vowed to protect his fellow officers in that regard.

"Yes, at times the police will, of necessity, respond with deadly force (but) colleagues, I will vigorously defend you when you have no option but to use justifiable force to protect your lives and the lives of our citizens. I make no apologies for taking this principled decision," he said.

The Appeal Court has dismissed the case brought by the Gordon "Butch" Stewart led Gorstew Limited against the State. The ruling was handed down on Friday.

The Court said it did not find favour with the appeal and promised to give its reasoning in writing at a later date.

Gorstew's attorney, Hugh Wildman, said the matter will now be taken to the UK Privy Council.

Gorstew appealed against a 2016 ruling by the Full Court to reject its application to challenge the decision of Resident Magistrate Lorna Shelly Williams to free three former ATL executives of fraud charges. Gorstew had applied to the Full Court for leave to seek judicial review of the 2014 decision of the Magistrate. Gorstew wanted the verdict quashed and the matter heard by another judge. But the Court described the application as vexatious and lacking merit.

Patrick Lynch, Catherine Barber and Dr Jeffrey Pyne were freed in August 2014 after the magistrate upheld no-case submissions by their attorneys. They were accused of distributing nearly $2 billion in interest and surplus to members of ATL's pension scheme without the consent of the company's Chairman, Gordon "Butch" Stewart.

Reports are that, at approximately 7:30 pm, Castillo and Thomas were sitting in a vehicle along Watson Drive in Gregory Park, when a car drove up and occupants of the vehicle opened fire, hitting the two men several times.

The attackers escaped.

Police were summoned and the men taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The Romanian national Daniel Seteu and Jamaican Andre Sterling, both of whom are suspected to be part of the million dollar international ATM scamming ring appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court Wednesday.

The men were reportedly arrested between Monday and Tuesday last week at an ATM machine at the Pavilion Mall in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.

Seteu was reportedly held with more than 20 fraudulent ATM cards and over $150,000 while allegedly making withdrawals from the machine in Sterling's company.

They were busted by members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch (C-TOC). Queen's Counsel Tom Tavares-Finson is representing Seteu and attorney Donahue Martin represents Sterling.

The police are reportedly hot on the heels of the other two Romanian nationals who are believed to be in the island, and who have also been implicated in the ATM scam that has reportedly so far cost Jamaicans over $50 million.

International Telecommunications Union's Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day observed across the world

Kingston, Jamaica: Today girls and young women from 15 schools will gather to compete in a Caribbean Hackathon in observance of International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day.

On Thursday, April 27, 2017, the Spanish Court Hotel's Worthington Conference Centre will be filled with students from Wolmer's Girls', Hillel Academy, St Andrew High School, St Elizabeth Technical High School, Campion College, Manchester High School, Immaculate Conception High School, American International School Kingston, Hampton School, Excelsior Community College, University of the West Indies, Moneague Community College, Caribbean Institute for Media and Communication, University of Technology Jamaica, and Northern Caribbean University, vying for prizes at the Jamaican leg of the Caribbean Hackathon.

The girls and young women will be engaged in hands-on activities, guided by a tech mentor, using ICT to create, innovate and generate solutions to various challenges. The activities include mobile app building, animation, robotics, digital video production and digital art works, and web development.

A day-long immersion in ICT, the 'hackathon' will give the girls and young women, an opportunity to envision themselves, not only as users of technology, but creators.

The 'hackathon', led by a group of women consultants through a joint partnership between Cotton Tree Consulting and Change Makers Development Ltd, will take place simultaneously, in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

"Scotiabank is pleased to be part of an initiative that will inspire and excite our girls through their engagement with technology. This unique opportunity is one we are sure will not only encourage interest but ultimately galvanise the talent of Jamaican women in the development of the ICT industry," said Yanique Forbes Patrick, vice-president of marketing at Scotiabank, regional platinum sponsor of the hackathon.

The event is also supported regionally by Gold Sponsor LOOP in partnership with the University of the West Indies.

Let's Talk Tech

A number of local, regional and international role model tech speakers will also be streamed, giving inspirational messages of support to the participants as over 40 messages can viewed over the ITU portal URL: http://www.itu.int/girlsinict.

Messages will come from Trinidad-born Aaerospace engineer Camille Wardrop Alleyne, who currently serves as an assistant programme scientist for the International Space Station, based at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre in Houston in Texas. Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Bason College, Jennifer Bailey, whose speciality is identifying effective strategies for generating innovation breakthroughs, while mitigating innovation risks will also have a message.

Nadeen Matthews, National Commercial Bank (NCB) chief digital and marketing officer and CEO of the NCB Foundation expressed that the hackathon is part of an important global movement to increase female representation in ICT.

"Digitisation is a global shift and our ability to effectively compete as a nation and as a corporate entity requires that we generate a talent pool with the requisite skill set to meet the growing demands. It is exciting to see so many Jamaican companies collaborating to make this a reality in Jamaica. NCB, as local platinum sponsor, is delighted to be part of this movement," Matthews concluded.

The Hackathon is sponsored locally by Phase 3 Productions, and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Simple Facts about Girls in ICT Day Worldwide

Over the last six years, over 240,000 girls and young women have taken part across 160 countries. Since the start of the initiative, the ITU Girls In ICT Twitter account has reached over half a billion people with the hashtag #GirlsinICT. In 2016, the hashtag reached 68.4 million, with over 237 million deliveries, representing the potential number of times that people saw a GirlsinICT tweet.

Supporting the global Girls in ICT movement empowers girls and young women to move from innovation to impact.

Lil Wayne got angry and rightfully so then ended his performance after a fan threw a drink on him.

Seems some of Birdman fans also goes to Lil Wayne concerts. The Young Money rapper was performing at Garden City in Idaho on Sunday night when the incident took place. He was performing his smash hit single "A Milli" when suddenly drink started raining down from the audience. Weezy stopped performing at that moment and even contemplated throwing his microphone at the culprit.

Lil Wayne manages to control himself for a bit and hinted that he didn't want to do something that would earn him a lawsuit. "Hold on let me tell you something, I don't know if you thought I was a busta but I'm rich so I can't throw nothing back," Weezy said before calling in his goon squad to throw something back. Back in 2015, Birdman threw vodka on Lil Wayne while he was performing on stage at LIV Nightclub in Miami. At the time Weezy was performing one of his anti-Cash Money singles.

Social media dragged on-the-rise female artiste Shenseea through the mud and sludge on Monday night into Tuesday after Vybz Kartel (and his team) posted the song Loodie on VEVO, with the note that "My song was never a collaboration!"

Of course, "Loodie" as the world knows it is a colab with Shenseea and Kartel and is credited as the song that gave Shenseea her bus in the music biz.Clearly, something is amiss right here. The song has been playing since last year, why is it that Kartel is now releasing it as a solo singe?

There is a feeling, according to some websites, that for months now, some Gazanation fans have been complaining that Shenseea is not giving Vybz Kartel enough props for single-handedly launching her dancehall career.

Several sites have quoted "Sources inside the Gaza" as saying that Vybz Kartel feels like he never get enough credit for the massive success of the single and feels like he wasn't properly compensated.

Therefore, social media had a field day - and night - bashing Shenseea left, right and centre. The comments about the poor girl were simply horrid. Let's hope her team puts out a statement that will put out a statement that will dispel all the rumours that continue to swirl.

As of the time of writing, producers of the single, So Unique Records have remained silent. Producer Elvis Redwood was not available for comment.

A US Congressman has proposed to amend his country's Electronic Fund Transfer Act to impose a fee for remittance transfers to certain foreign countries, and for other purposes.

The Bill, introduced on March 30, 2017 in the US House of Representatives by Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, seeks to fund US President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the US-Mexico border through a tax on remittances.

The Bill, which is being cited as the Border Wall Funding Act of 2017, proposes to tax remittances to Jamaica and 41 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The plan is for a remittance fee equal to two per cent of the dollar amount to be transferred. The Bill has been referred to the US Congressional subcommittee on crime, terrorism, homeland security, and investigations. Congressman Rogers wants a speedy passage so it can take effect by this September.

A recent estimate suggests the wall could take more than US$21 billion to build over a three-and-a-half year period. Jamaicans sent about US$2 billion in remittances from the US last year.

If that level is kept up, they would pay close to US$40 million in the remittance tax.

The St Andrew businessman captured on video pointing his licensed firearm at several motorists along West King's House Road in St Andrew during Carnival festivities has been scheduled to appear in court next week Tuesday, May 2.

The police say 28-year-old restaurant manager Zachary Reid was charged with additional offences yesterday afternoon after being interviewed in the presence of his attorney.

The additional charges are failure to handover a firearm for inspection, assault at common law and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

Denny Johns a Jamaican-born American who was indicted by US prosecutors for allegedly attempting to kill his wife and her sister in Queens, New York, was extradited on Tuesday. He was ordered extradited last month when he appeared before the St. Andrew Parish Court.

US prosecutors reported that on May 30, 2012, Johns was involved in a dispute with his wife when he pulled a gun and fired at her. The bullet missed and struck a wall in the couple's bedroom. Her sister who shared the apartment went to her assistance and tried to wrestle the weapon from Mr. Johns. During the tussle, the wife went under the bed to hide. Johns fired a bullet hitting his wife in the chest. He then placed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, but it did not discharge.

He was captured in Westmoreland late last year. Johns was taken out of the island by US Marshals.

US President Donald Trump was forced to ditch plans to find cash for his border wall in this week's spending bill.

Among the measures Trump was hoping would help to pay for the wall is a two per cent fee on remittances to certain countries including Jamaica. But the BBC says the president's close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, has said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must be passed by Friday.

Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.

He reportedly told a private meeting with members of the conservative media last night that he might be open to funding the wall later in the year.

The Half Way Tree police on Sunday night arrested a man who was seen walking around with a gun in his hand in the district, where annual carnival festivities were being held.

"We are aware of the incident and can confirm that the man was arrested and is currently being questioned at this time," a senior officer from the St Andrew Central Police Division told Loop News on Monday morning.

Reports are that the man - identified as a local businessman - was seen parading with the gun along West Kings House Road and other sections of Half Way Tree minutes after he left a popular carnival party.

Alleged eyewitnesses said the man appeared to be drunk at the time.

A video of the man walking around with the weapon has been making the rounds on social media. It is not clear if anyone was harmed by the man.

There are further reports that the man has now been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.

Olivia "Babsy" Grange Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports is defending Government's position on the staging of Jamaica 55 celebrations amid a slew of questions and concerns raised by her Opposition counterpart Lisa Hanna.

Grange, in a 17-page response e-mailed to the media on Saturday, said that the celebration of Emancipation and Independence is an act to memorialise and pay homage to the struggles, sacrifices and triumphs of "our ancestors".

"For Jamaica 55 we have decided, as we did for Jamaica 21 and Jamaica 25, to include activities outside of the normal course of events to mark our Emancipation and Independence," she explained.

According to Grange, these activities include a series of projects to ensure that celebrations leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Hanna, in her Sectoral Debate contribution to Parliament earlier this month, insisted that Grange had embarked on a "culture of extravagance", noting that the ministry's budgetary allocation for the financial year 2017/2018 had seen a 130 per cent increase from last year's.

The former culture minister raised concerns about the $440-million budgetary allocation for the emancipation and heritage week celebrations this year, which she pointed out was $190 million more than the expenditure for the previous year.

"One of few countries to celebrate failure and so called independence.

Jamaica is unable to farm and export Ganja legally, unable to erase her many criminal financiers, unable to severely punish shottas, unable to make the most from the over 3 million Tourists p/a, unable to govern the country with a oversized parliament and local government, unable to maximize on growth areas such as Agriculture and Reggae music, unable to fix Squatting, unable to update outdated laws and unable to put an end to Garrisons and rising inequality.

This must be the celebration of 55 years of failure masked as 55 years of independence!"

Justin Gatlin and the United States roared to victory in the men's 4x100m relay as rivals Canada and Jamaica dropped batons at the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas on Saturday.

Run down by Canadian Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse in the earlier heats, Gatlin romped home in the final, leading the U.S. team of Leshon Collins, Mike Rodgers and Ronnie Baker to victory in 38.43 seconds.

Barbados claimed the silver and China surprised by taking the bronze.

Australia finished fourth ahead of France as both joined the medalists in qualifying for the IAAF world championships in August.

Reports are that three masked men -- armed with rifle and handgun -- stormed the Hayes Police Station in Clarendon Sunday morning with what is believed to have been ugly intentions.

The shocking incident occurred around 2:47am as the island has been experiencing inclement weather. The armed men arrived at the Hayes Police station in a car and two of the gang hopped out holding their weapons. However, a fearless cops immediately challenged the thugs an alert police officer challenged the men.

According to online reports, two of the men exited the vehicle wearing masks -- one armed with a rifle and the other with a handgun.

The man brandishing the rifle was about to fire on the station when he and his criminal friend were fired on by the alert cop.

The criminal with the rifle escaped in the motorcar and the man with the handgun escaped on foot.

Reputed gangster Tesha Miller has finally been released from police custody without charge.

His attorney Bert Samuels said Miller was met by relatives on his release. Earlier Thursday, Kingston and St Andrew Parish Judge Vaughn Smith ruled that Miller must be charged by 6 o'clock or released from police custody.

Miller, who is believed to be the leader of the St Catherine-based Clansman gang, had been in police custody since April 4 when he was deported from The Bahamas.

In court this morning, his attorney Able-Don Foote described as sinister, the continued detention of the reputed gangster. Tuesday, Miller pleaded guilty to making a false declaration to Jamaican immigration officials and was fined the maximum $100.

However, he had remained in the custody of the police, who had indicated that he was the subject of a number of investigations. Last evening, Miller was interviewed by detectives from the Major Investigations Taskforce and the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime division.

Sprint superstar Usain Bolt was caught up in a fatal motorcycle crash in Jamaica which claimed the life of Jamaican-born Germaine Mason, who was a close friend of Bolt. Reports are that the two were among a group of athletes and entertainers who had attended a soca party at Kingston's Waterfront that evening.

Team Jamaica, a website run by Jamaican athletics supporters, said a number of athletes, including Bolt and Frater, were riding in a convoy with Mason when the crash took place, but other reports say that Bolt was on his way home when he heard of the accident and immediately made his way to the scene.

Mason, 34, who was a Jamaican star athlete and record holder prior to joining Team Great Britain and winning a silver medal in high jumper at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, died Thursday in the early morning crash which occurred near Kingston, police said, when he lost control of his motorcycle.

Bolt, Jamaica's eight-time Olympic sprint champion and 11-time world champion, and fellow sprinter Michael Frater were immediately at the scene.

"Usain Bolt was part of the group that came by and he was very, very emotional, and still is," police senior superintendent Calvin Allen told the BBC. "I understand they are very close friends."

Mason began competing for Britain, his father's homeland, in 2006 after having taken bronze for Jamaica at the 2004 world indoors and claimed silver at the 2000 world juniors in Chile and bronze at the 2002 world juniors in Kingston. Both the prime minister of Jamaica and the leader of the opposition have extended their condolences to Mason's relatives and friends.

Fuzz Caan, a senior high jump coach at British Athletics who worked with Mason during his time as Olympic champion, said "Germaine was an outstanding athlete and a truly lovely man. He had a wry sense of humour and was a pleasure to be around."

"The whole of the British Olympic Aassociation is incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Germaine Mason," said BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney.

"Germaine was a great athlete, an Olympian and a silver medal-winning part of Team GB who made history at Beijing 2008. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

Other British athletics stars were stunned and saddened at the news.

"This is just awful. Such sad news," tweeted 2012 London Olympic and three-time world heptathlon champion Jess Ennis-Hill.

"Heart goes out to friends and family of Germaine Mason on this sad day," tweeted 1992 Barcelona Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie. "R I P Germaine. Never forgotten."

Olympic silver medal high jumper Germaine Mason died in a motorcycle crash in Kingston, Jamaica, early Thursday morning.

Jamaican-born Mason was heading into Kingston at around 4.20am when he lost control of his motorbike along the Palisadoes main road and crashed, dying instantly.

The 34-year-old was reportedly riding in the front of a convoy with several other athletes. Many reports say that track star Usain Bolt, was among the athletes, but according to Yardfles sources, Bolt was not a part of the convoy. Bolt, who is a close friend of Mason's, reportedly arrived at the scene after the accident.

Mason, who has a five-year-old son, is Jamaica's record holder in the event at 2.34m, or 7.67 feet. He had been trained by the Stephen Francis-coached MVP, prior to 2006 when he left Jamaica to represent Britain. The high jump star, who was born in Kingston, lived in Jamaica, however, Mason, whose father is British, had dual citizenship.

The athlete competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and won a silver medal for Great Britain in the high jump event.

Mason continued to compete until he retired from the sport in 2016.

Mason had been with several athletes, including 100m and 200m world record holder Bolt, 2005 world championship 100m silver medallist Michael Frater, and former Bolton defender Ricardo Gardner before Thursday's crash occurred.

After news broke of Mason's death, several athletes poured out tributes on social media, including Johnson Thomson and Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Reports were that dancehall artiste Popcaan and Canadian rapper Drake on Sunday officially released a collaboration entitled "My Chargie"

The single, according to some very questionable "reliable sources" was said to be produced by Notnice Records. However, reports have surface since then denouncing the single as fake. It is said that although there is a new Popcaan Drake collab in the making, the one on Youtube, My Chargie, was definitely not it

Drake and The "Unruly Boss" previously teamed up for "Controlla" however that single was only leaked online.

Popcaan was cut from the album version for Drake's chart-topping VIEWS released in 2016. He was controversially replaced by Beenie Man.

Steve Stephens, the Facebook killer, killed himself about 90 minutes outside Cleveland during a high speed chase with cops in Pennsylvania.

Police in Erie, PA say Stephens' body was found inside his white Ford Fusion around 11:10 AM ET on Tuesday. The police were in pursuit of Stephens at the time after they responded to a tip that Stephens' car had been spotted in a nearby McDonald's parking lot.

Cops say Stephens' car came to a stop in the middle of the road near a former elementary school, and then he took his own life. He died on scene.

Facebook killer Steve Stephens was undone by McDonald's employees who ID'd him and made him wait a little extra time for his order so the cops could come and catch him.

Stephens went through the drive-thru at the McDonald's on Buffalo Road in Erie, PA when one of the workers recognized him. He ordered a 20-piece McNugget and a large fry ... but workers made it seem the fries weren't ready so they could buy time.

According to the restaurant's manager ... Stephens got his nuggets, but then said he had to go and he drove off without the fries. It was enough time for cops to get on his tail.

Stephens was involved in a high-speed police chase shortly afterward, before committing suicide in his car.

It was a bloody Easter Sunday and Monday in Kingston 2 after two men were killed in separate incidents in the area.

On Sunday, 25-y-o Youlando Vaccianna of Hillside Crescent was gunned down by a lone gunman about 7:00 pm.

Reports from the Rockfort Police are that Vaccianna was allegedly walking along the roadway when he was approached by the man who pulled a firearm and opened fire hitting him several times. The gunman escaped.

Vaccianna was rushed to hospital after the police were alerted, however, he died while undergoing treatment.

Claudiu Precup, a Romanian man who has been charged in connection with the ATM scam uncovered locally, was remanded until Wednesday, when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

Two Romanian nationals who could be part of an international scamming operation were refused entry into Jamaica last week when they were intercepted at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay .

Head of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime branch, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Clifford Chambers says two men attempted to enter the island but were refused entry by local authorities who have observed a recent trend of a number of foreigners, especially Romanians, setting up scamming operations in Jamaica. Elements from the Romanian criminal network have been fleecing millions of dollars from the bank accounts of individuals at ATMs across Jamaica.

Over $50 million has reportedly been been stolen by the men so far .

Immigration officials had been placed on alert for these individuals entering the island. They were sent back on a flight to Romania.

Regional security dosier indicate that one of the men had been arrested, charged and convicted of fraud-related offences in The Cayman Islands, while there are indications of the ATM scam extending to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Canada.

This is while Claudiu Precup, a Romanian man who has been charged in connection with the ATM scam uncovered locally, was remanded until Wednesday, when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

Cecil Prawl, 49, one of the operators of the popular Port Royal seafood restaurant Gloria's, was killed following a motor vehicle accident early this morning.

According to reports from the Port Royal Police, Prawl was driving his black Lexus SUV along a section the Port Royal Main Road towards Port Royal when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed. Eye witnesses say Prawl was flung from the vehicle onto the road suffering severe head injuries.

Prawl, who was the only occupant in the vehicle, was taken to a medical facility but was pronounced dead soon after.

The police theorise that speeding was a major contributing factor in the crash.

A 27-year-old Jamaican law student arrested in the US over lottery scamming , pleaded guilty to the charges in October and has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.

Teresa Wilson was sentenced in March after pleading guilty October 19, 2016 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

As part of her sentence, the court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $270,000, which are proceeds of the offense. Wilson -- a resident of Montego Bay, St James just completed studies at the Norman Manley Law School.

Wilson is the third defendant to plead guilty during this investigation in the case. Jamaican Yanique Coach and American Dwayne Breary were previously sentenced to 12 months' and a day, and 6 months' imprisonment, respectively, after pleading guilty July 2016.

According to court documents, an 89-year-old victim in Virginia received phone calls from two people in October and November 2014, advising that she had won $3.5 million dollars from the Mega Millions Sweepstakes.

One of the callers identified himself as being associated with the sweepstakes, and the other purported be an attorney. The callers told the victim that her name had been entered into the lottery through a magazine subscription, but that the victim needed to pay fees and taxes before receiving her winnings.

From October 31, 2014 to November 25, 2014, at the direction of the callers, the victim complied and mailed $282,600 in cash to various locations in Florida and Georgia, concealing the money in magazines and cereal boxes.

The family of the victim learned about the large withdrawals of money from the victim's bank account and contacted the FBI. On March 6, 2015, the victim was instructed by the callers to send $150,000 in cash to an apartment in Orlando, Florida. On March 19, 2015, a third co-conspirator signed for and accepted the package upon delivery. Agents then executed a search warrant and recovered the package.

During the fraud scheme, Wilson, who was attending law school in Jamaica, had co-conspirators hold packages for her containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, which they had received from the victim in the United States. Wilson would then travel from Jamaica to retrieve the money or make arrangements for another co-conspirator to travel from Jamaica to do the same.

Percussionist/singer Denver "Feluke" Smith who is suffering from Stage 4 colon cancer.have created a GoFundMe account for the entertainer

Feluke trained as a at the Alpha Boys' School in Kingston. He is known for songs like Soul Alive and Fine Wine.

In a recent interview, Thamar Williams, a close friend of Feluke, said he is in urgent need of treatment.

"He needs our help in his fight against cancer and against time and he needs it now. We desperately need your contributions to assist in getting him to Mexico for treatment and a fighting chance," she said.

Smith was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014 and placed on treatment, which she said had the disease under control. However, it has returned in a more aggressive form, affecting his lungs. Initial treatment will require a minimum of 30 days and cost US$17,000. So far, US$4,000 has been raised.

On Sunday, the death toll on the nation's roads since Thursday night, stood at seven, with a policeman numbered among the fatalities.

And with one day to go before the end of the Easter holiday, the Road Safety Unit is again urging road users to make safety a priority. Director of the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport Kenute Hare says the seven deaths on the weekend are the result of improper driver behaviour.

The fatal accidents occurred in Westmoreland, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, St. Catherine, Manchester, and St. Ann.

According to Mr. Hare, the seven road deaths so far this weekend have pushed the overall figure this year, to 98.

During the ER interview, this is what Mr Vegas said that pissed off Gaza fans: "I saw Vybz Kartel on your show already... where he said 'I know I am going to hell, Jeffrey already put in the a/c. Ever since he said that that night I watch your show when he spoke about Mavado not being intelligent, and ever since he got locked up it's like he saw something in the universe that he was going to hell.

Where Vybz Kartel is is hell... I was in Hunts Bay one day and it's like your skin was coming off.

Alleged leader of the Clansman Gang, Tesha Miller, is to appear in court on April 18, after being charged on Wednesday with two counts of making a false declaration.

This was revealed in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court Wednesday. Miller's attorney, Able-Don Foote was about to make an application for Miller's release from custody - arguing that Miller was being held without charge from April 4 - when the court was informed.

The court was told that he left the island using assumed names. The court was also told that there are other matters pending against Miller.

The reputed Clansman leader has been in police custody since he was deported from the Bahamas last week.

Miller was named as a person of interest last year by Jamaica's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch and asked to turn in himself to the authorities. Detectives reportedly believed Miller could assist them in their investigation of several of the murders recorded in Spanish Town and sections of Portmore during the first quarter of 2016.

Motown legend Stevie Wonder is reportedly set to tie the knot for the third time.

The 67-year-old music legend is planning to tie the knot with 42-year-old Tomeeka Bracy - the mother of his two youngest children - in front of a star-studded guest-list in Jamaica on June 17.

According to the Daily Mail, Stevie and Tomeeka will get married in front of both family and friends, with Stevie's other children set to play supporting roles as bridesmaids and groom's men.

Stevie and Tomeeka have been dating since he split from second wife, Kai Millard Morris. Stevie was previously married to Motown singer Syreeta Wright before they parted ways in 1972.

It's believed the wedding will be a truly A-List event, befitting Stevie's status as a living legend in the music industry, with the likes of Sir Elton John and Sam Smith set to be on the invite list.

His children from previous relationships - Aisha, 42, Kwame, 28, Sophia, Keita, 39, Kailand, 16, Mumtaz, 33, and Mandla, 11 - are thought to have all been asked to play their own roles on the wedding day.

Don't ask if Pamputtae neva give it to Nuffy over the whole Shenseea argument.

Now, after Pamputtae mek her statement that some artiste a get some big push and dem cyaan even perform the whole a social media tek it up and a chat how Pam a throw wud pon Shenseea. Den the Mr Nuffness himself, Nuffy, no do nutten more that tek Pamputtae picture and Shenseea picture side by side and start run off him nuff mout. Bout Pamputtae fi low di girl and a chat up bare tingzs.

Well, Pamputtae did seckle His Royal Nuffness.

You tink a chattingz?????

Some sinting wha Pamputtae chat no normal. She dun him. All next year this time Nuffy cyaan recover.

Nuffy with the mouth that rhyme with PATTY; Nuffy whose private part was done things that only a woman should do to a man (if they are so inclined), but in this case it was a man dressed as a woman who was doing these abominable things to His Royal Nuffness.

All of this is according to our girl Pamputtae.

Nuffy, we hear say you a hide under you bed. Nuffy, come from under the bed and defend yourself.

A 14-year-old boy in Northern Ireland has been charged with attempting to possess a sub-machine gun and 100 rounds of ammunition, after he was reportedly told by a Jamaican man to collect the items.

A report in the Belfast Telegraph says the teenager was detained during a police operation on Thursday. Police said he had handed over £150 for the ammunition to an operative, believing he could later purchase a machine gun. The accused appeared before a Magistrate's Court on Saturday, flanked by his father and three police officers.

During an interview with police, the boy provided a prepared statement naming a Jamaican man who he said had asked him to collect ammunition and a deactivated gun. He said he had ordered these on the Internet.

The only living Wailer, Bunny Wailer, celebrated a milestone 70 years old on Monday April 10 and the Reggae music pioneer told Yardflex that he enjoyed the day immensely.

"I am just here chilling out and enjoying some live music. Brushy One String is here playing his guitar and the vibes are great," a youthful sounding Bunny Wailer told Yardflex.

Neville O'Riley Livingston, stage name Bunny Wailer (Jah B)he surviving founding member of The Wailers has dedicated 55 years of service to the development and preservation of Jamaica's musical genres. Jah B's earthstrong activities will overlap with the inauguration of Rastafari Month.

The month long celebration will include a dinner dance celebration launch of WailerSka Lifestyle Brand honouring The Wailers & Skatalites starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Saturday will see a beach clean-up and community interactive session. Then, there will be a media launch of The Wailer's Museum, celebrating the life and legacy of Bunny Wailer at 10:00 a.m. at the Bournemouth Beach Complex.

The activities will culminate with a Bunny Wailer/Wailers tribute one love concert on April 22 at 10:00 p.m., celebrating the 39th Anniversary of The One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in 1978.

Having released the debut single from his destined-for-success 14-track album, Ideologies, Rastafarian singer Droop Lion is enthusiastically looking forward to taking his all-embracing message of love and unity to the entire music world.

The first single, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, was released on all digital platforms on March 15, and, already music critics have been hailing it as "a true masterpiece" and a "reggafied work of art", proving to Droop Lion and his team that their decision to use this song as the lead single was indeed on point. Well, truth be told, Have You Ever Seen The Rain has already sold over 25 million copies during the decade of the seventies for the original singers, roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival. However, this version, while not straying far from the original, still manages to give fans that signature Droop Lion sound, feel and appeal.

"We wanted to keep the nostalgia in the song, so during the production we refrained from changing up the lyrics, but at the same time, we made subtle changes which infused a different kind of vibration in the song. But, at the end of the day, we all know that a classic is a classic and you can't improve on that, you can only interpret and hope that fans will appreciate your interpretation," explained Droop Lion, who noted that he was looking forward to meeting the original singers/song-writer.

Meanwhile, the Free People Entertainment recording artiste continues his exciting musical journey with what will be predominantly a media tour, which kicks off on May 12 and runs through to May 28. He will traverse through Europe, making stops along the way in countries including the UK, France, Germany, Finland , Spain and Italy. Noting that the aim is to solidify his already burgeoning status on the European continent, Droop Lion was full of praise for his fans there who, he says continue to show his amazing love.

"It is always a joy to be in Europe," he said. "The respect and admiration is mutual and I am really looking forward to connecting with the members of the media and through them, speak to my fans. Just want to give a shout out to all the media people all over who have been gracious enough to give us air time, print space and your overall support. It means a lot to me," stated the singer, who emerged as one of the leading voices of a new reggae-soul movement. Droop Lion added that fans in Europe will see him in action on May 14 when he is scheduled to perform in London.

Miami music producer and alleged drug dealer Harrison "Cuban Harry" Garcia is on trial for federal drug charges, this after Homeland Security investigators nabbed the 26-year-old in a sting. In the trial, it has come forth that Lil Wayne and Chris Brown's affiliation with Garcia is now under investigation.

The Miami Herald reports that federal authorities are examining a $15,000 wire transfer Brown made to Garcia's bank account in 2016 that was allegedly used to purchase "lean" and other drugs. The paper adds that Garcia admitted to investigators that he sold "a lot of narcotics" to Lil Wayne, according to a federal agent's testimony on Thursday.

Garcia's attorney attempted to get the agent to elaborate on his client's confession but was refused after he cited that there's still an open investigation. The authorities believe that Garcia's high-flying lifestyle that he promoted on Instagram was supplanted by a hidden drug operation.

Veteran soundman Lloyd Coxsone of London's Sir Coxsone's Outernational recently did a 18-minute video interview criticizing popular radio disc jockey David Rodigan. Coxsone blasts Rodigan calling him "David Rob And Gone" and "a one-hour radio selector" with no sound.

He challenges Rodigan to name one Jamaican artiste who Rodigon has given the break in the United Kingdom. Speaking on behalf of the 500 sound systems of the UK, Lloyd calls for more respect from Jamaicans for his and other sounds' work during times of open racism and police brutality. Rodigan has been in the news lately following the release of his book.

So, dancehall singjay I-Octane has been left off the Reggae Sumfest line-up for 2017. So what?????? Yeah, he closed it for two years and he did well and all of that...yaadi daa da....Time to give other good (and better) artistes a time to shine.

As expected, mix-up-selector-who-have-axe-fi-grine ....yes big foot Foota Hype who always a put him foot inna him mouth.. ... a join up wid some a Octane igle fans dem and a try mek a big ting outta it.

Foota, why you doan try see if Joe will give you a work pon Sumfest. Oops! How could we forget. Joe nuh did dash out Foota from Downsound.

So it looks like Foota nah go get nu wuk pon suimfest either.

Well we deh deh pon we eyelash. Di two night dem have on bare heavyweight artiste. Reggae Sumfest to di flippin' werl!! Joe do yuh tine. Same way suh!!!!!

Don't ask if Pamputtae neva give it to Nuffy over the whole Shenseea argument.

Now, after Pamputtae mek her statement that some artiste a get some big push and dem cyaan even perform the whole a social media tek it up and a chat how Pam a throw wud pon Shenseea. Den the Mr Nuffness himself, Nuffy, no do nutten more that tek Pamputtae picture and Shenseea picture side by side and start run off him nuff mout. Bout Pamputtae fi low di girl and a chat up bare tingzs.

Well, Pamputtae did seckle His Royal Nuffness.

You tink a chattingz?????

Some sinting wha Pamputtae chat no normal. She dun him. All next year this time Nuffy cyaan recover.

Nuffy with the mouth that rhyme with PATTY; Nuffy whose private part was done things that only a woman should do to a man (if they are so inclined), but in this case it was a man dressed as a woman who was doing these abominable things to His Royal Nuffness.

All of this is according to our girl Pamputtae.

Nuffy, we hear say you a hide under you bed. Nuffy, come from under the bed and defend yourself.

Fifty-three-year-old businesswoman, Janett Moore, and her 19-year-old daughter, Tajona Rhoden both of a Pheonix Park, Dunbeholden, St. Catherine who were shot dead on Wednesday night, had been victims of a violent attack more than 15 years ago.

Moore's common law husband Wilfred Rhoden stabbed her several times and left her for dead on Old Stony Hill Road.

He then went to the family home in Kencot and inflicted wounds on Tajona and her two sisters seriously injuring them before he killed himself.

The police are investigating the killing of the two women, who were found suffering from gunshot wounds on Wednesday night.

The Office of the Children's Registry (OCR) is reporting that it recorded more than 13,000 cases of child abuse for the period January to December 2015. It said it received reports of child abuse for 18 out of every 1,000 children living in Jamaica in 2015. This represents an 18.7 per cent increase over the previous year.

Greig Smith, Registrar at the OCR, made the revelation at Thursday morning's launch of National Child Month at GraceKennedy's headquarters in downtown Kingston. Smith said more than 9,000 of the cases represented children who were reported to the OCR for the first time.

"Persons still fear of the 'informer fi dead' culture but persons are coming. Henceforth, we would have recorded over 13,000, close to 14,000 cases compared to 11,900-plus the previous year. So more persons are really coming out to talk."

He urged, "What we really want to encourage is more chidren also because we are still seeing less than two per cent of the children still making the point"

He said there is still no system in place at the registry to determine how many of these reported cases have led to a prosecution.

Earlier this week news surfaced online claiming that Suge Knight has revealed that his ex-wife Sharitha Golden and his former head of security at Death Row Records Reggie Wright Jr. are both responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. The Daily Mail was one of the major news outlets that reported the story claiming that Knight thinks that he was the target in the murder of the late rapper.

Knight's son has since weighed in on social media dismissing the reports as false. "My father was the Big protective brother of Pac," Jacob Knight wrote on Instagram. "If he knew anybody was after him he wouldnt have pac with him in the first place. These rumors are selfish and its unecessary. When you look who is trying to profit off of causing chaos in my family its somebody who doesnt know nor care about my family. Fake news will never get attention but people will stop trying to make a quick dollar off my family, especially off lies. Only negative black stories get broadcasted I see, smh. MY FATHER NEEDS HIS FAMILY AND HIS CIVIL RIGHTS BACK BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT A DOCUMENTARY. #FreeSuge."

Suge Knight's lawyer, Thaddeus Culpepper, also confirmed that his client did not make the statement as reported in the media nor did he made any such statement on behalf of his client. The former Death Row Records head is currently in jail awaiting trial for murder. Tupac Shakur has been in the news a lot lately with several of his memorabilia turning up on auction websites for sale including his handwritten lyrics, nose studs and even the car that he was murdered in. His biopic movie All Eyez On Me is set for premiere this summer in theaters.

The music video for Body, the new collab from Sean Paul and Migos has already been shot, preceding the actual release of the single .

The dancehall hitmaker and the Atlanta rap trio converged on Miami earlier this week. They were spotted on set along with a bunch of females in carnival outfits signaling a fun filled video coming for the summer. Sean Paul's longtime producer and close friend Don Corleon is the producer behind the upcoming single "Body." A release date is not yet known, but sources have confirmed with DHH that it could arrive any day now.

"Video shoot vybz today with @duttypaul @migos @quavohuncho @yrntakeoff @offsetyrn [Sean Paul, Migos, Quavo, Takeoff, Offset] #Body coming soon," Corleon wrote on IG. The video was shot in sunny South Beach and it looks like the set was just fun filled. One of the clips shows the dancehall legend filming a scene with Quavo and some females clad in their carnival outfits dancing.

Sean Paul was perhaps the biggest comeback story in music in 2016 with a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with his feature on Sia's massive hit "Cheap Thrills." He also scored a number of other hits including "Tek Weh Yuh Heart" with Tory Lanez and "Rockabye" with Clean Bandit and singer Anne Marie. Certainly, he is looking to repeat the same success this year.

Migos is also hot off a great year with the release of their new album CULTURE and their mega hit single "Bad and Boujee" turning them into a household name. After inking a new recording deal with Island Records, Sean Paul is well on his way to dropping his new album. The project is yet to be titled and there is no release date so far, but his fans are expecting it sometime this year. Sean Paul is popping for sure right now internationally and there are no signs of him slowing down.

Just-released-from-prison rapper,XXXTentacion is advising OVO boss Drake to stop being a culture vulture.

"Tell this pu*** ni*** Drake stop speaking patois," XXXTentacion said. "You are not Jamaican and am a real fu***** Jamaican am from fu**** Kingston, all of my family are from Kingston, so stop stealing my people's culture. Get the f*** up off our d**k because we don't claim you," the rapper shouted on social media ina rather long-winded rant.

Since leaving jail last week Friday, the Florida rapper has been going off on Drake and even disrespecting the Toronto rapper's mother on Twitter. Their beef stemmed from Drake allegedly stealing his flow "Look At Me" flow for his More Life single "KMT" featuring London rapper Giggs. On his last two albums, Drake taps heavily into dancehall and that has been working for him because he is currently the biggest selling rapper on the planet.

X also issued a challenge to Drake to record a whole album or even three songs that don't sound like anybody else he will walk through the streets naked.

Drake fans and members of his OVO crew have been pushing back on XXXTentacion saying that he is just seeking some attention and Drake is not giving it to him.

Following Lisa Hanna's bombshell revelations in Parliament on Tuesday, in which she called out the Culture Ministry for a myriad of ills, ranging from nepotism to reckless spending, the Minister of Culture, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has responded with a release slamming Hanna for her "hypocritical and irresponsible .... presentation which had the effect of besmirching professionals, alarming our partners and demotivating our volunteers".

See full text of Grange's letter below:

"I have noted the accusations mentioned in the presentation by the Member of Parliament for South East St Ann, Lisa Hanna, during the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today (Tuesday).

I categorically reject the allegations of wrongdoing and will seek to provide a comprehensive response in the House.

The allegations of wrongdoing relate to the use of a consultant by the JCDC and the establishment of a Secretariat in the Ministry to coordinate activities to mark Jamaica 55 -- which is an expanded programme.

That the Member has chosen to allege wrongdoing on that basis is too extraordinary to be believed as during the tenure of the Member as Minister of Youth and Culture (between 2012 and 2016):

the same consultant was engaged by the JCDC; and the Minister maintained a Secretariat to coordinate activities to mark Jamaica 50, including the sale of commemorative pins.

At last count we found tens of thousands of pins hidden at various locations across the island and overseas. The investigation is continuing.

The hiring of consultants at the JCDC pre-dates my leadership as Minister and has been a necessary support resource to the Commission in the execution of its mandate.

The mind boggles at the thought that this Member, who fired the Project Director for Jamaica 50 Secretariat on assuming office and hired another at twice the pay, is now the one coming to the Parliament to tell the nation that she found a culture of extravagance.

The Member was hypocritical and irresponsible in her presentation which had the effect of besmirching professionals, alarming our partners and demotivating our volunteers.

I give the assurance to the nation that we are managing a credible programme in compliance with applicable rules and regulations including those that govern procurement."

Spokesperson on Information, Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna, had some shocking revelations to share at her sectoral presentation Tuesday as she exposed the reckless and excessive spending in the Olivia 'Babsy' Grange-led ministry.

Hanna ripped apart the culture of extravagance at the Culture Ministry and opened what can only be described as a huge can of worms as she questioned nepotism at the ministry, the function of the JCDC and, quite interestingly, the necessity of a Jamaica 55 Secretariat, among other things.

Sections of Hanna's presentation in Parliament can be read below:

"...I was overjoyed to hear the prime minister of Jamaica punctuate his 2017 budget speech with a firm commitment to fiscal discipline.

He said, "As an independent country, we must be disciplined in managing our own fiscal affairs. The only way... is to better manage the tax revenue we raise; plug the leaking revenues we don't raise [while] growing the economy."

But, Mr Speaker, I'm forced to ask, does he believe his own words? If he does, he seems to be the only cabinet member believing.

Despite my relatively few years in politics, I've noticed a "money-mek-fi-spend" philosophy has overtaken our governance structures. Some don't seem able to distinguish between campaign funds and taxpayers' resources.

What might be just cavalier when spending campaign funds becomes otiose, uncaring, incongruous and just plain old-fashioned dishonest as custodians of taxpayers money.

Take for example the over $440 million allocated to the Ministry of Culture this year by the GOJ for Emancipendence/Heritage Week Celebrations. This is over 100 per cent more than last year's budget of $191 million. Of that $440m, only $60million has been ear-marked for the JCDC whose mandate, as prescribed in The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Act is to:

•promote cultural programmes and activities in communities throughout the Island;

• encourage and organise each year independence anniversary celebrations and other celebrations marking occasions of national interest etc.

That miniscule $60 million allocation to the JCDC is stated expressly in the budget to be for "promotion of cultural activities", more specifically restricted in a liner note to "promote at the local and national level the unearthed talents in the performing and visual arts".

So, with a sleight-of-hand, fully 85 per cent of the JCDC's statutory mandate has been removed from that agency and it has been limited to conducting music and drama festivals for children island-wide -- all this despite the JCDC Act neither being amended nor repealed.

So, Mr Speaker where has the rest of the $440m gone? The budget has allocated that money to the Ministry of Culture to "assist in the promotion of events commemorating Independence Day including the Grand Gala, Emancipation Day and National Heritage Week".

For those of you who might have missed it, there is an obscure note to the estimates of expenditure reserving $200 million of the $380 million remaining specifically for "Jamaica 55 Project."

But Mr Speaker, only you can help me to understand how, somehow, despite the presence of the JCDC, with its specific statutory remit, despite a fully staffed, budgeted for Ministry, despite the prime minister's commitment to fiscal responsibility, a separate creature called a "Jamaica 55 secretariat" has been established by Minister Grange to do the JCDC's job which is to plan and execute the festivities.

Is this how you plug the leaks in government expenditure or is this how you ensure that it is leaked to the right place?

I regret to report, Mr Speaker, that this is not the first time. A pattern seems to be developing in this ministry whereby established state agencies are bypassed in favour of personal consultants.

Mr Speaker, an external consultant was contracted to, in the words of his proposal letter (a copy of which I have) to "act as artistic director" for the 2016 Grand Gala.

The letter is dated May 27, 2016 and by June 22 the contract was awarded lock stock and barrel. The consultant's asking fee of $15 million dollars was adopted without negotiation. This fee was charged to design costumes, for choreography, team leadership "artistic direction" and to provide production assistants all of which could easily have been done by the JCDC at no cost.

My information is that the Ministry of Culture provided the production assistants promised by this Consultant, but not delivered and then arranged for the JCDC to pay an additional $2 million for these assistants. The end result was that $17 million was paid for expertise and services already available in the JCDC.

I have a copy of his contract. It provided for a contract period of June 16 to August 14, 2016 and for payment of 50 per cent of the fee on signing; another 25 per cent seven days after signing and the balance "within 7 days after implementation and submission of final report."

Yet I have right here a document headed "invoice" dated July 15, 2016. It is a very ragged and unprofessional letter written to the JCDC demanding full payment of the $15 million and the due date on the Invoice is July 15, 2016 the same date as the date of the so-called "invoice".

This invoice fails to specifically describe any of the services or to itemize how the fee is chargeable vis-a-vis each service but simply repeats the vague description of services in the Proposal letter and demands full payment. This payment was made three weeks before the Grand Gala even took place. The final cost of Grand Gala 2016 $65 million.

This "artistic director" is the same consultant whose company, is owned 50/50 with a partner. The said partner had been engaged to head the Jamaica50 Secretariat at the Ministry of Culture in 2011.

When I took over the Ministry in 2012, I found a project proposal from this partner to spend $2.5 billion. I recall the former and current minister's public outrage when the plan to implement that proposal was foiled and discarded.

This culture of extravagance had to change and, by 2015, I was able to put a stop to this "money-mek-fi-spend' culture that I inherited in 2012.

We began as soon as I took office and gradually brought the gala costs down closer to sanity. In 2015, our policies had succeeded in reducing the gala cost to $40million. We did this by using the state agencies that were in place and dispensing with these expensive external consultants.

Now, as soon as the government changes, this same consultant returns to this same ministry in 2016 and is able to burst the budget pipe so big that the leak becomes a flood! In 2016, the gala cost had already increased to $65 million. Is this the "fiscal responsibility" of which the prime minister spoke?

Mr. Speaker, I'm reliably informed that the artistic director's business partner who prepared the Jamaica 50 $2.5billion proposal is now the current minister's paid senior advisor whose responsibilities include the Jamaica 55 project.

As such, perhaps it would cause some discomfort had any part of the 2016 Grand Gala tender come in on his company's letterhead so his business partner, the artistic director, was awarded a $15m contract in his personal capacity in a most non-transparent process.

Now that one of the business partners controls "Jamaica 55" project imagine what kind of contract a bloated budget of over $380 million can be accommodated for the artistic director?

Is this how the prime minister defines "fiscal responsibility"?

Mr Speaker why is Jamaica 55 a milestone year in any event? Didn't the Prime Minister say that we must "be disciplined in managing our own fiscal affairs" and "better manage the tax revenue we raise"? Is this a national or a political priority? If the invitation to the Jamaica 55 launch at Vale Royal tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 5) is anything to go by, this "milestone" year of independence will be a grand affair.

Can I propose to the prime minister, that he begin with Jamaica 55 in exercising his newly found spiritual conversion to fiscal discipline? What's the role of the Jamaica 55 secretariat? From where does its authority to spend taxpayers' funds (or even advise on its spending) arise?

Are the Jamaica 55 funds being spent painstakingly to the adherence of the Government Procurement Rules? What's the purpose of a "consultant" when the JCDC has a Board with a clear statutory remit? When will all this end? Are going to see a "Jamaica 56" secretariat next year? Perhaps the role of the JCDC Board has been usurped. No one with any management knowledge would expect the current board with its 31 members to be effective or efficient.

Furthermore, it's my understanding that this current board suffers from the same "money-mek-fi-spend" virus. They have not only increased board fees to themselves, but done so retroactively.

Blow to prime minister's credibility

Prime Minister, your credibility has already taken a blow, having told people that the $1.5 million give back would be revenue-neutral and having flip-flopped on your opposition to sourcing funds from the NHT.

The Ministry of Culture's questionable actions exacerbate this credibility deficit and make a further mockery of the PM's stated commitment to fiscal discipline.

If the PM is serious about better management of the tax revenue we raise, then he should start in the Ministry of Culture and with a tightening of the exclusions under 1.2.1 in the Procurement Guidelines Handbook which were intended to cover creative and artistic choice only, but have been stretched beyond reasonable limits to allow for the procurement of management and consultancy services without transparency.

Government has cut the budgets for CHASE and the Student Loan Bureau by $222 million yet people are expecting to extract "the last pound of flesh" from the pockets of most, if not all Jamaicans, especially the poorest of the poor.

These people won't be content to exchange their last pound of flesh to attend ad hoc Independence activities intended to make them feel good when they can't pay their child's "free school fee" or money to pay the increased property taxes.

But the truth is, until we get rid of this "money-mek-fi-spend culture", we will never have the resources to help our youth and hone our cultural talents.

Plus all the speeches we make as politicians will be useless rhetoric. Mr Speaker, as elected MPs we have a responsibility for nation building.

On this side, we see nation building as investing in our institutions and in our human capital. It is clear from the intentional actions of this government that wasteful extravagance of our taxpayers money is the order of the day and they are more intent on benefiting a "few special friends".

We saw it in when they appointed only one "special" Jamaican contractor as the subcontractor to the Chinese for all-island infrastructural work under the JDIP, we saw it again when they appointed a few "special" contractors for the $800 million all-island bushing programme, and we see it again here in the Ministry of Culture with this "special artistic director" and the $200 million Jamaica 55 secretariat.

Mr Speaker, our citizens are watching us more closely than ever before and they can see through the smoke and mirrors that are used to intentionally obscure this perpetual "money-mek-fi-spen" culture that this administration seemingly can't do without.

Reputed leader of the notorious Klansman gang, Tesha Miller, was deported from The Bahamas yesterday, however reports are that the elusive gangster had carried the cops in The Bahamas around the fairy-tale mulberry bush for a month, in their attempt to find out exactly who he was.

Miller, who had been wanted for questioning by the Jamaican authorities, ended up in the Bahamas, but it was only his Jamaican accent that gave the fugitive away, after a long month during which he gave several aliases to the cops in The Bahamas.

After they recognised his Jamaican accent they contacted the Jamaican authorities and Tesha Miller's cover was blown wide open.

Last week Tuesday, news surfaced that Miller had been caught in The Bahamas and was scheduled for deportation the following day, but it was many days before the fugitive gangster was sent home. Miller was deported from Nassau, the capital, on a 2:40 pm flight.

His expulsion comes almost a year after he was deported from the United States, where he spent two years in prison on a charge of illegal entry.

Members of the police force are now closely monitoring sections of the St Catherine North Division and surrounding areas following the deportation of reputed Clansman Gang leader Tesha Miller from The Bahamas on Tuesday.

The police division includes volatile communities in the vicinity of Spanish Town - such as Thompson Pen, Tredegar Park, St John's Road, Rivoli and De La Vega City - where the Clansman Gang operates.

Miller was in police custody up to Wednesday morning. Police said he was scheduled to be deported last week Tuesday but the deportation was delayed because of security reasons. He was held by Bahamas authorities last month after entering the Caribbean island illegally.

The alleged gangster was deported from the United States last year. Months after his return, he was named as a person of interest by Jamaica's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) and asked to turn in himself to the authorities.

Detectives reportedly believed Miller could assist them in their investigation of several of the murders recorded in Spanish Town and sections of Portmore during the first quarter of 2016. According to one of his relatives, Miller keeps fleeing the island because he believes his life is under threat from both the police and criminals.

A brazen kidnapping attempt of a parent by a disgruntled former employee led to gunshots being fired on the compound of St Andrew Preparatory School on Cecelio Ave in Half-Way Tree Wednesday morning.

Police sources say no one was injured in the shooting.

The drama unfolded at the nearly 100 thousand dollars per term preparatory school after the mother dropped her child off at school and was surprised by the gunman who reportedly forced his way into the woman's car. Police reports are that the woman, whose name is being withheld, drove the car onto the school compound and crashed it into another vehicle before escaping.

Police sources say a licensed firearm holder, who was watching the incident unfold, then challenged the gunman and the shootout ensued.

A funeral has been held for the elderly black man who was allegedly stabbed to death by a sword-wielding "white supremacist" in New York City.

Timothy Caughman, 66, was fatally wounded during the 22 March attack, which took place while he was collecting bottles for recycling. Caughman was stabbed from behind - in the back and the chest - his injuries discovered when he staggered into a nearby police station. He was rushed to hospital, but later died from his wounds.

Speaking at the funeral, New York mayor Bill de Blasio said Caughman should be a symbol of the fight against racism, the Associated Press reported.

Alleged white supremacist James Jackson has been charged with one count each of murder in the first and second degrees as an act of terrorism in connection with the case. Authorities claim Jackson, from Baltimore, travelled to New York to target black men, allegedly in order to make a statement against interracial relationships.

"James Jackson prowled the streets of New York for three days in search of a black person to assassinate in order to launch a campaign of terrorism against our Manhattan community and the values we celebrate," District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said in a statement following the indictment.

"Last week, with total presence of mind, he acted on his plan, randomly selecting a beloved New Yorker solely on the basis of his skin colour, and stabbing him repeatedly and publicly on a Midtown street corner. James Jackson wanted to kill black men, planned to kill black men, and then did kill a black man."

The names of the those killed during Sunday morning's hacking incident in Norwood, St James have been revealed by the police.

They are 60-year-old Lascelles Bracket, who is said to be the perpetrator of the hacking, and his victim 62-year-old Herman Pryce.

Three other victims remain in hospital in serious condition.

The police say the incident took place about 10:30 a.m. yesterday in a shop when Bracket demanded to be served for a second time after he had been already served. He pulled a machete and chopped three elderly men who were also in the shop.

Police say he ran into a house where he chopped Pryce, a maintenance worker who lived in the dwelling.

Residents who came to Pryce's assistance were also attacked. Bracket was subsequently mobbed and killed by the residents.

Pryce was taken to hospital, along with the other injured men, where he was pronounced dead.

Although the 70-year-old actor directed the first movie in the franchise and starred in all three, he has decided not to return for the fourth movie, due to creative differences with Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner over the script and director.

The Expendables 4' was set to reunite series staples Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dolph Lundgren.

Stallone who has also directed the 'Rambo' and the 'Rocky' franchises, helmed the first 'Expendables' back in 2010.

Simon West took over the reins for 'Expendables 2' and Patrick Hughes on 'Expendables 3'.

Stallone has continued to star in front of the camera in all the films alongside regulars; Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Jet Li, Bruce Willis and Wesley Snipes.

Tyrese Gibson was once the man crush Monday for women across the planet but these days the singer/actor is living a quiet life off the market.

Last month, Tyrese confirmed that he secretly got married to his girlfriend Samantha Lee. We've learned that the two got married on Valentine's Day after only been dating for around a year and a half, TMZ reported. Samantha is also of Jamaican and Ecuadorian and was recently on the island vacationing. Since announcing their marriage, both Tyrese and Samantha have been getting some backlash from his legion of female fans on social media.

Some of the actor's fans are angry that he portray her as his "black queen" when she is not 100% black. Despite the criticisms, Tyrese promises to keep his married life private for the most part except for the occasional updates on social media. "So many people give a lot of power to "The Ring" as a man I had to wait till I truly truly felt like my WORDS and my FEET would walk in the same direction as my HEART," he wrote. "Not to worry I won't be updating you guys on every detail and every aspect of our life."

During her recent interview with Anthony Miller on ER, Spice opened up about being the top female dancehall artist in the game. "I am the only female to have gain over 70 million views on a single song, so I would definitely say that I am the top female right now," she said.

When asked about who she thinks the king of dancehall is right now, she vehemently say it's incarcerated deejay Vybz Kartel, with whom she has previously collaborated with. "Everybody know say a Gaza me say and not because Vybz Kartel is incarcerated doesn't mean am going to turn my back on him and start say someone else, because a lot of fans jump ship," Spice told Miller. "Am going to stay loyal because Vybz Kartel gave me my first international record 'Romping Shop' so I am not going to switch."

Spice also said that she thinks Vybz Kartel will be freed in his upcoming appeal case.

Grammy-winning Reggae artiste, Stephen Marley makes gis appearance on two new international collabs. Rapper Pitbull included Marley on his new album Climate Change with Options, while legendary rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony dropped the single Coming Home.

Pitbull's Options lends itself to Stephen Marley's catchy vocals for the chorus as well highlights Jamaica and its party culture in the recently released music video that has over two million views on Youtube, two weeks after its debut. Pitbull and Marley will perform Options on WrestleMania this Sunday, April 2.

Stephen Marley is now on tour in the United States, promoting his 19-track fourth studio album Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life. The album features a number of local stars.

Back in December she filed to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian, ahead of her marriage to Rob.

However it has now been reported that Blac Chyna has been denied the rights to the name - following a battle with Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian in court.

According to TMZ, the 28-year-old has been blocked from using the name whether she marries on/off ex Rob, 30, or not - after the three sisters opposed the decision in order to stop Blac profiting from the family name.

Months before she and Rob welcomed the birth of their daughter Dream, Blac filed to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian.

However in December it was reported by TMZ that sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney moved to block the curvaceous star from using the name in future business ventures.

An airline pilot who was so drunk he appeared to pass out in the cockpit before takeoff was sentenced on Monday to eight months in jail in Canada.

Miroslav Gronych, 37, pleaded guilty last month to having care and control of an aircraft while he had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

The Slovakian pilot was escorted off a Sunwing Airlines plane in Calgary on December 31 before a flight scheduled to end in Cancun, Mexico.

The court heard that when Gronych got on the plane, he struggled to hang up his coat, was slurring his words and was staggering. The court was also told the co-pilot suggested Gronych should leave the plane, but he eventually returned to the cockpit, sat down and appeared to pass out with his face resting on the window.

Judge Anne Brown also banned Gronych from flying for one year after his release. She noted he has been in treatment for alcoholism, has abstained from drinking since the event and has been "thoroughly shamed."

The court heard that Gronych, who is married and has two young children, has lost his job.

The defense had asked for a three- to six-month sentence while the prosecution asked the judge to give Gronych one year in jail.

His defense lawyer told the court last month that Gronych couldn't sleep the night before his flight and felt like he was coming down with a cold. He took a couple of shots of vodka and a Tylenol, and planned to wake up in time to let people know he wouldn't make the flight. He didn't set an alarm and was awakened by a call asking him where he was, his lawyer said. He drank the rest of the bottle of vodka and left for the flight.

When police arrived, they found his pilot's wings were pinned upside down. They smelled alcohol on his breath and he couldn't stand up straight.

Sunwing ,a low-cost Canadian carrier, has said it has a zero tolerance policy on crew members consuming alcohol within 12 hours of going on duty.

The jury is still out on whether or not there is any truth to online reports that jailed run-di-oplace deejay, Vybz Kartel has given his life to God. A popular website claims to have the complete text of a letter allegedly sent to popular Irie FM personality, Mutabaruka. from the pen of Addi the Teacher. Please note, however, that Yardflex sources have confiormed that Muta has received no such letter. Anyway, please see text of alleged letter below:

"I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off me. Like the woman at the well, I was searching for things that could not satisfy, but glory be to the most high God, I am now drinking from a well that can never run dry.

To all my family, friends and fans out there who are missing me and longing to see me, have no fear, if it is God's will, it will be done and you will see me soon. But do not get too caught up in Vybz, seek and find Jesus Christ and you will have all that you need. I wish for you the peace that I have found. Please seek and find Jesus Christ. My baptism is in the work and I am just waiting on the prison's Chaplin to provide me with a baptism date. I love you and I will see you soon. I no longer want to be called "world boss". God is the boss of the world and I am his child. Almighty God mi seh... Adijah Palmer."

The original version of Loodi, featuring Vybz Kartel alone disappeared from his Vevo channel and was replaced by a new single Remember Me, produced by Zj Chrome.

This comes after the video, which was uploaded yesterday, caused much controversy, after it was disclosed under the upload that the song was never a collaboration.

This news sent social media and industry insiders into a frenzy, more so fans of the incarcerated Dancehall artiste, who stormed to Shenseea's page to express anger at her stealing Kartel's song.

Shenseea and her manager Romeich have done a number of interviews to clear up the issue. In this interview done yesterday and uploaded to Youtube, Shenseea says she was asked by the producer to modify the lyrics of the original version.

Students and teachers at Merl Grove High School on Constant Spring Road ran for their lives on Friday afternoon when gunshots erupted and disrupted the normal hum of life.

Distraught students were convinced that this was a school shooting because, as they told YardFlex, the gunshots sounded like they were on the school compound. Those who were standing at the bus shed scampered in all directions, fleeing from the shots.

When the smoke cleared, a policeman lay dead uner the bus shed, his life snuffed out by an alleged robber.

Reports are that the policeman, identified as Constable Leighton Hanson, was responding to reports of suspicious men at certain premises when he was attacked by one of them.

An investigator at the scene said the cop was disarmed by the man and shot once in the head.

His attacker was shot by other policemen.

Both were taken to a medical facility where the cop was pronounced dead.

Motorists were advised to avoid Constant Spring Road in the vicinity of the Merl Grove High School where the shooting took place.

The robber who reportedly disarmed a police constable along Constant Spring Road in St Andrew and murdered him on Friday afternoon is dead. The man reportedly succumbed to his injuries while being treated in hospital.

Head of the Andrew North Police Superintendent Meveral Smith says the attacker was shot and injured after killing the policeman, identified as Constable Leighton Hanson at the bus stop at Merl Grove High School in St Andrew.

According to one report, Constable Hanson was investigating reports of a robbery and stabbing incident on a bus in the vicinity of the Merl Grove High School. While the man was being searched by Hanson, he grabbed the policeman and engaged him in a tussle. The attacker grabbed the policeman's gun and shot him on the head, killing him.

After the shooting, the area was cordoned off chaos ensued as traffic piled up in all directions, creating a gridlock on Constant Spring Road, certain sections of Red Hills Road and roads leading off.

CMC is reporting that at least 12 Trinidad and Tobago nationals are due to arrive home on Friday after they were deported from Turkey, but the police say they have no indication as to whether or not they are linked to nationals travelling to the Middle East to fight for the terrorist group, ISIS.

"We expect 12 persons who are reportedly deported from Turkey. They will be escorted here by Turkish agents. We do have information regarding some of the 12 persons, some of the information we have to verify. We have had limited information from the Turkish authorities," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police, Wayne Dick.

He told a news conference that while the 12 nationals 'at this point" will not be arrested" since they would be considered just "12 persons who are deported from Turkey".

"We have limited information from the Turkish authorities and we are hoping when they get here through continued efforts and investigations, we will learn why they have been deported," he said.

Last August, a Turkish newspaper reported that nine Trinidad and Tobago nationals were detained after the police nabbed a Syrian man suspected of attempting to smuggle them into southern Turkey to join the ISIS terrorist organisation.

The "Daily Sabah" reported that the police had stopped a car with a license plate from southern Mersin province when it entered south-central Adana province with 10 people, including the driver and nine Trinidad and Tobago citizens.

The paper reported that after an initial probe, police found the Syrian man, Asem H, was trying to take the Trinidad and Tobago nationals to the war-torn country, where they would have been recruited by ISIS.

The Syrian suspect was remanded in custody after an appearance at a local court, while the nine Trinidad and Tobago nationals were transferred to Adana Provincial Migration Management for deportation procedures, the report said.

Police officers have been assured that justifiable use of force will be defended but Commissioner Quallo was keen to point out that he would not tolerate the abuse of ordinary citizens.

"Let's be clear, I will not stand for, or defend any of you my colleagues who wantonly abuse the rights of the citizens we swear to protect and serve," he declared. That's the promise from George Fitzroy Quallo, the 29th Commissioner of Police.

He was officially installed during a ceremony at the Police Officers Club on Hope Road in St. Andrew this afternoon.

The new commissioner argued that in some instances, the use of force would be required, especially in dealing with hardened criminals, and he vowed to protect his fellow officers in that regard.

"Yes, at times the police will, of necessity, respond with deadly force (but) colleagues, I will vigorously defend you when you have no option but to use justifiable force to protect your lives and the lives of our citizens. I make no apologies for taking this principled decision," he said.

The Appeal Court has dismissed the case brought by the Gordon "Butch" Stewart led Gorstew Limited against the State. The ruling was handed down on Friday.

The Court said it did not find favour with the appeal and promised to give its reasoning in writing at a later date.

Gorstew's attorney, Hugh Wildman, said the matter will now be taken to the UK Privy Council.

Gorstew appealed against a 2016 ruling by the Full Court to reject its application to challenge the decision of Resident Magistrate Lorna Shelly Williams to free three former ATL executives of fraud charges. Gorstew had applied to the Full Court for leave to seek judicial review of the 2014 decision of the Magistrate. Gorstew wanted the verdict quashed and the matter heard by another judge. But the Court described the application as vexatious and lacking merit.

Patrick Lynch, Catherine Barber and Dr Jeffrey Pyne were freed in August 2014 after the magistrate upheld no-case submissions by their attorneys. They were accused of distributing nearly $2 billion in interest and surplus to members of ATL's pension scheme without the consent of the company's Chairman, Gordon "Butch" Stewart.

Reports are that, at approximately 7:30 pm, Castillo and Thomas were sitting in a vehicle along Watson Drive in Gregory Park, when a car drove up and occupants of the vehicle opened fire, hitting the two men several times.

The attackers escaped.

Police were summoned and the men taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The Romanian national Daniel Seteu and Jamaican Andre Sterling, both of whom are suspected to be part of the million dollar international ATM scamming ring appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court Wednesday.

The men were reportedly arrested between Monday and Tuesday last week at an ATM machine at the Pavilion Mall in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.

Seteu was reportedly held with more than 20 fraudulent ATM cards and over $150,000 while allegedly making withdrawals from the machine in Sterling's company.

They were busted by members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch (C-TOC). Queen's Counsel Tom Tavares-Finson is representing Seteu and attorney Donahue Martin represents Sterling.

The police are reportedly hot on the heels of the other two Romanian nationals who are believed to be in the island, and who have also been implicated in the ATM scam that has reportedly so far cost Jamaicans over $50 million.

International Telecommunications Union's Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day observed across the world

Kingston, Jamaica: Today girls and young women from 15 schools will gather to compete in a Caribbean Hackathon in observance of International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day.

On Thursday, April 27, 2017, the Spanish Court Hotel's Worthington Conference Centre will be filled with students from Wolmer's Girls', Hillel Academy, St Andrew High School, St Elizabeth Technical High School, Campion College, Manchester High School, Immaculate Conception High School, American International School Kingston, Hampton School, Excelsior Community College, University of the West Indies, Moneague Community College, Caribbean Institute for Media and Communication, University of Technology Jamaica, and Northern Caribbean University, vying for prizes at the Jamaican leg of the Caribbean Hackathon.

The girls and young women will be engaged in hands-on activities, guided by a tech mentor, using ICT to create, innovate and generate solutions to various challenges. The activities include mobile app building, animation, robotics, digital video production and digital art works, and web development.

A day-long immersion in ICT, the 'hackathon' will give the girls and young women, an opportunity to envision themselves, not only as users of technology, but creators.

The 'hackathon', led by a group of women consultants through a joint partnership between Cotton Tree Consulting and Change Makers Development Ltd, will take place simultaneously, in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

"Scotiabank is pleased to be part of an initiative that will inspire and excite our girls through their engagement with technology. This unique opportunity is one we are sure will not only encourage interest but ultimately galvanise the talent of Jamaican women in the development of the ICT industry," said Yanique Forbes Patrick, vice-president of marketing at Scotiabank, regional platinum sponsor of the hackathon.

The event is also supported regionally by Gold Sponsor LOOP in partnership with the University of the West Indies.

Let's Talk Tech

A number of local, regional and international role model tech speakers will also be streamed, giving inspirational messages of support to the participants as over 40 messages can viewed over the ITU portal URL: http://www.itu.int/girlsinict.

Messages will come from Trinidad-born Aaerospace engineer Camille Wardrop Alleyne, who currently serves as an assistant programme scientist for the International Space Station, based at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre in Houston in Texas. Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Bason College, Jennifer Bailey, whose speciality is identifying effective strategies for generating innovation breakthroughs, while mitigating innovation risks will also have a message.

Nadeen Matthews, National Commercial Bank (NCB) chief digital and marketing officer and CEO of the NCB Foundation expressed that the hackathon is part of an important global movement to increase female representation in ICT.

"Digitisation is a global shift and our ability to effectively compete as a nation and as a corporate entity requires that we generate a talent pool with the requisite skill set to meet the growing demands. It is exciting to see so many Jamaican companies collaborating to make this a reality in Jamaica. NCB, as local platinum sponsor, is delighted to be part of this movement," Matthews concluded.

The Hackathon is sponsored locally by Phase 3 Productions, and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Simple Facts about Girls in ICT Day Worldwide

Over the last six years, over 240,000 girls and young women have taken part across 160 countries. Since the start of the initiative, the ITU Girls In ICT Twitter account has reached over half a billion people with the hashtag #GirlsinICT. In 2016, the hashtag reached 68.4 million, with over 237 million deliveries, representing the potential number of times that people saw a GirlsinICT tweet.

Supporting the global Girls in ICT movement empowers girls and young women to move from innovation to impact.

Lil Wayne got angry and rightfully so then ended his performance after a fan threw a drink on him.

Seems some of Birdman fans also goes to Lil Wayne concerts. The Young Money rapper was performing at Garden City in Idaho on Sunday night when the incident took place. He was performing his smash hit single "A Milli" when suddenly drink started raining down from the audience. Weezy stopped performing at that moment and even contemplated throwing his microphone at the culprit.

Lil Wayne manages to control himself for a bit and hinted that he didn't want to do something that would earn him a lawsuit. "Hold on let me tell you something, I don't know if you thought I was a busta but I'm rich so I can't throw nothing back," Weezy said before calling in his goon squad to throw something back. Back in 2015, Birdman threw vodka on Lil Wayne while he was performing on stage at LIV Nightclub in Miami. At the time Weezy was performing one of his anti-Cash Money singles.

Social media dragged on-the-rise female artiste Shenseea through the mud and sludge on Monday night into Tuesday after Vybz Kartel (and his team) posted the song Loodie on VEVO, with the note that "My song was never a collaboration!"

Of course, "Loodie" as the world knows it is a colab with Shenseea and Kartel and is credited as the song that gave Shenseea her bus in the music biz.Clearly, something is amiss right here. The song has been playing since last year, why is it that Kartel is now releasing it as a solo singe?

There is a feeling, according to some websites, that for months now, some Gazanation fans have been complaining that Shenseea is not giving Vybz Kartel enough props for single-handedly launching her dancehall career.

Several sites have quoted "Sources inside the Gaza" as saying that Vybz Kartel feels like he never get enough credit for the massive success of the single and feels like he wasn't properly compensated.

Therefore, social media had a field day - and night - bashing Shenseea left, right and centre. The comments about the poor girl were simply horrid. Let's hope her team puts out a statement that will put out a statement that will dispel all the rumours that continue to swirl.

As of the time of writing, producers of the single, So Unique Records have remained silent. Producer Elvis Redwood was not available for comment.

A US Congressman has proposed to amend his country's Electronic Fund Transfer Act to impose a fee for remittance transfers to certain foreign countries, and for other purposes.

The Bill, introduced on March 30, 2017 in the US House of Representatives by Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, seeks to fund US President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the US-Mexico border through a tax on remittances.

The Bill, which is being cited as the Border Wall Funding Act of 2017, proposes to tax remittances to Jamaica and 41 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The plan is for a remittance fee equal to two per cent of the dollar amount to be transferred. The Bill has been referred to the US Congressional subcommittee on crime, terrorism, homeland security, and investigations. Congressman Rogers wants a speedy passage so it can take effect by this September.

A recent estimate suggests the wall could take more than US$21 billion to build over a three-and-a-half year period. Jamaicans sent about US$2 billion in remittances from the US last year.

If that level is kept up, they would pay close to US$40 million in the remittance tax.

The St Andrew businessman captured on video pointing his licensed firearm at several motorists along West King's House Road in St Andrew during Carnival festivities has been scheduled to appear in court next week Tuesday, May 2.

The police say 28-year-old restaurant manager Zachary Reid was charged with additional offences yesterday afternoon after being interviewed in the presence of his attorney.

The additional charges are failure to handover a firearm for inspection, assault at common law and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

Denny Johns a Jamaican-born American who was indicted by US prosecutors for allegedly attempting to kill his wife and her sister in Queens, New York, was extradited on Tuesday. He was ordered extradited last month when he appeared before the St. Andrew Parish Court.

US prosecutors reported that on May 30, 2012, Johns was involved in a dispute with his wife when he pulled a gun and fired at her. The bullet missed and struck a wall in the couple's bedroom. Her sister who shared the apartment went to her assistance and tried to wrestle the weapon from Mr. Johns. During the tussle, the wife went under the bed to hide. Johns fired a bullet hitting his wife in the chest. He then placed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, but it did not discharge.

He was captured in Westmoreland late last year. Johns was taken out of the island by US Marshals.

US President Donald Trump was forced to ditch plans to find cash for his border wall in this week's spending bill.

Among the measures Trump was hoping would help to pay for the wall is a two per cent fee on remittances to certain countries including Jamaica. But the BBC says the president's close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, has said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must be passed by Friday.

Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.

He reportedly told a private meeting with members of the conservative media last night that he might be open to funding the wall later in the year.

The Half Way Tree police on Sunday night arrested a man who was seen walking around with a gun in his hand in the district, where annual carnival festivities were being held.

"We are aware of the incident and can confirm that the man was arrested and is currently being questioned at this time," a senior officer from the St Andrew Central Police Division told Loop News on Monday morning.

Reports are that the man - identified as a local businessman - was seen parading with the gun along West Kings House Road and other sections of Half Way Tree minutes after he left a popular carnival party.

Alleged eyewitnesses said the man appeared to be drunk at the time.

A video of the man walking around with the weapon has been making the rounds on social media. It is not clear if anyone was harmed by the man.

There are further reports that the man has now been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.

Olivia "Babsy" Grange Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports is defending Government's position on the staging of Jamaica 55 celebrations amid a slew of questions and concerns raised by her Opposition counterpart Lisa Hanna.

Grange, in a 17-page response e-mailed to the media on Saturday, said that the celebration of Emancipation and Independence is an act to memorialise and pay homage to the struggles, sacrifices and triumphs of "our ancestors".

"For Jamaica 55 we have decided, as we did for Jamaica 21 and Jamaica 25, to include activities outside of the normal course of events to mark our Emancipation and Independence," she explained.

According to Grange, these activities include a series of projects to ensure that celebrations leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Hanna, in her Sectoral Debate contribution to Parliament earlier this month, insisted that Grange had embarked on a "culture of extravagance", noting that the ministry's budgetary allocation for the financial year 2017/2018 had seen a 130 per cent increase from last year's.

The former culture minister raised concerns about the $440-million budgetary allocation for the emancipation and heritage week celebrations this year, which she pointed out was $190 million more than the expenditure for the previous year.

"One of few countries to celebrate failure and so called independence.

Jamaica is unable to farm and export Ganja legally, unable to erase her many criminal financiers, unable to severely punish shottas, unable to make the most from the over 3 million Tourists p/a, unable to govern the country with a oversized parliament and local government, unable to maximize on growth areas such as Agriculture and Reggae music, unable to fix Squatting, unable to update outdated laws and unable to put an end to Garrisons and rising inequality.

This must be the celebration of 55 years of failure masked as 55 years of independence!"

Justin Gatlin and the United States roared to victory in the men's 4x100m relay as rivals Canada and Jamaica dropped batons at the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas on Saturday.

Run down by Canadian Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse in the earlier heats, Gatlin romped home in the final, leading the U.S. team of Leshon Collins, Mike Rodgers and Ronnie Baker to victory in 38.43 seconds.

Barbados claimed the silver and China surprised by taking the bronze.

Australia finished fourth ahead of France as both joined the medalists in qualifying for the IAAF world championships in August.

Reports are that three masked men -- armed with rifle and handgun -- stormed the Hayes Police Station in Clarendon Sunday morning with what is believed to have been ugly intentions.

The shocking incident occurred around 2:47am as the island has been experiencing inclement weather. The armed men arrived at the Hayes Police station in a car and two of the gang hopped out holding their weapons. However, a fearless cops immediately challenged the thugs an alert police officer challenged the men.

According to online reports, two of the men exited the vehicle wearing masks -- one armed with a rifle and the other with a handgun.

The man brandishing the rifle was about to fire on the station when he and his criminal friend were fired on by the alert cop.

The criminal with the rifle escaped in the motorcar and the man with the handgun escaped on foot.

Reputed gangster Tesha Miller has finally been released from police custody without charge.

His attorney Bert Samuels said Miller was met by relatives on his release. Earlier Thursday, Kingston and St Andrew Parish Judge Vaughn Smith ruled that Miller must be charged by 6 o'clock or released from police custody.

Miller, who is believed to be the leader of the St Catherine-based Clansman gang, had been in police custody since April 4 when he was deported from The Bahamas.

In court this morning, his attorney Able-Don Foote described as sinister, the continued detention of the reputed gangster. Tuesday, Miller pleaded guilty to making a false declaration to Jamaican immigration officials and was fined the maximum $100.

However, he had remained in the custody of the police, who had indicated that he was the subject of a number of investigations. Last evening, Miller was interviewed by detectives from the Major Investigations Taskforce and the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime division.

Sprint superstar Usain Bolt was caught up in a fatal motorcycle crash in Jamaica which claimed the life of Jamaican-born Germaine Mason, who was a close friend of Bolt. Reports are that the two were among a group of athletes and entertainers who had attended a soca party at Kingston's Waterfront that evening.

Team Jamaica, a website run by Jamaican athletics supporters, said a number of athletes, including Bolt and Frater, were riding in a convoy with Mason when the crash took place, but other reports say that Bolt was on his way home when he heard of the accident and immediately made his way to the scene.

Mason, 34, who was a Jamaican star athlete and record holder prior to joining Team Great Britain and winning a silver medal in high jumper at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, died Thursday in the early morning crash which occurred near Kingston, police said, when he lost control of his motorcycle.

Bolt, Jamaica's eight-time Olympic sprint champion and 11-time world champion, and fellow sprinter Michael Frater were immediately at the scene.

"Usain Bolt was part of the group that came by and he was very, very emotional, and still is," police senior superintendent Calvin Allen told the BBC. "I understand they are very close friends."

Mason began competing for Britain, his father's homeland, in 2006 after having taken bronze for Jamaica at the 2004 world indoors and claimed silver at the 2000 world juniors in Chile and bronze at the 2002 world juniors in Kingston. Both the prime minister of Jamaica and the leader of the opposition have extended their condolences to Mason's relatives and friends.

Fuzz Caan, a senior high jump coach at British Athletics who worked with Mason during his time as Olympic champion, said "Germaine was an outstanding athlete and a truly lovely man. He had a wry sense of humour and was a pleasure to be around."

"The whole of the British Olympic Aassociation is incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Germaine Mason," said BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney.

"Germaine was a great athlete, an Olympian and a silver medal-winning part of Team GB who made history at Beijing 2008. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

Other British athletics stars were stunned and saddened at the news.

"This is just awful. Such sad news," tweeted 2012 London Olympic and three-time world heptathlon champion Jess Ennis-Hill.

"Heart goes out to friends and family of Germaine Mason on this sad day," tweeted 1992 Barcelona Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie. "R I P Germaine. Never forgotten."

Olympic silver medal high jumper Germaine Mason died in a motorcycle crash in Kingston, Jamaica, early Thursday morning.

Jamaican-born Mason was heading into Kingston at around 4.20am when he lost control of his motorbike along the Palisadoes main road and crashed, dying instantly.

The 34-year-old was reportedly riding in the front of a convoy with several other athletes. Many reports say that track star Usain Bolt, was among the athletes, but according to Yardfles sources, Bolt was not a part of the convoy. Bolt, who is a close friend of Mason's, reportedly arrived at the scene after the accident.

Mason, who has a five-year-old son, is Jamaica's record holder in the event at 2.34m, or 7.67 feet. He had been trained by the Stephen Francis-coached MVP, prior to 2006 when he left Jamaica to represent Britain. The high jump star, who was born in Kingston, lived in Jamaica, however, Mason, whose father is British, had dual citizenship.

The athlete competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and won a silver medal for Great Britain in the high jump event.

Mason continued to compete until he retired from the sport in 2016.

Mason had been with several athletes, including 100m and 200m world record holder Bolt, 2005 world championship 100m silver medallist Michael Frater, and former Bolton defender Ricardo Gardner before Thursday's crash occurred.

After news broke of Mason's death, several athletes poured out tributes on social media, including Johnson Thomson and Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Reports were that dancehall artiste Popcaan and Canadian rapper Drake on Sunday officially released a collaboration entitled "My Chargie"

The single, according to some very questionable "reliable sources" was said to be produced by Notnice Records. However, reports have surface since then denouncing the single as fake. It is said that although there is a new Popcaan Drake collab in the making, the one on Youtube, My Chargie, was definitely not it

Drake and The "Unruly Boss" previously teamed up for "Controlla" however that single was only leaked online.

Popcaan was cut from the album version for Drake's chart-topping VIEWS released in 2016. He was controversially replaced by Beenie Man.

Steve Stephens, the Facebook killer, killed himself about 90 minutes outside Cleveland during a high speed chase with cops in Pennsylvania.

Police in Erie, PA say Stephens' body was found inside his white Ford Fusion around 11:10 AM ET on Tuesday. The police were in pursuit of Stephens at the time after they responded to a tip that Stephens' car had been spotted in a nearby McDonald's parking lot.

Cops say Stephens' car came to a stop in the middle of the road near a former elementary school, and then he took his own life. He died on scene.

Facebook killer Steve Stephens was undone by McDonald's employees who ID'd him and made him wait a little extra time for his order so the cops could come and catch him.

Stephens went through the drive-thru at the McDonald's on Buffalo Road in Erie, PA when one of the workers recognized him. He ordered a 20-piece McNugget and a large fry ... but workers made it seem the fries weren't ready so they could buy time.

According to the restaurant's manager ... Stephens got his nuggets, but then said he had to go and he drove off without the fries. It was enough time for cops to get on his tail.

Stephens was involved in a high-speed police chase shortly afterward, before committing suicide in his car.

It was a bloody Easter Sunday and Monday in Kingston 2 after two men were killed in separate incidents in the area.

On Sunday, 25-y-o Youlando Vaccianna of Hillside Crescent was gunned down by a lone gunman about 7:00 pm.

Reports from the Rockfort Police are that Vaccianna was allegedly walking along the roadway when he was approached by the man who pulled a firearm and opened fire hitting him several times. The gunman escaped.

Vaccianna was rushed to hospital after the police were alerted, however, he died while undergoing treatment.

Claudiu Precup, a Romanian man who has been charged in connection with the ATM scam uncovered locally, was remanded until Wednesday, when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

Two Romanian nationals who could be part of an international scamming operation were refused entry into Jamaica last week when they were intercepted at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay .

Head of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime branch, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Clifford Chambers says two men attempted to enter the island but were refused entry by local authorities who have observed a recent trend of a number of foreigners, especially Romanians, setting up scamming operations in Jamaica. Elements from the Romanian criminal network have been fleecing millions of dollars from the bank accounts of individuals at ATMs across Jamaica.

Over $50 million has reportedly been been stolen by the men so far .

Immigration officials had been placed on alert for these individuals entering the island. They were sent back on a flight to Romania.

Regional security dosier indicate that one of the men had been arrested, charged and convicted of fraud-related offences in The Cayman Islands, while there are indications of the ATM scam extending to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Canada.

This is while Claudiu Precup, a Romanian man who has been charged in connection with the ATM scam uncovered locally, was remanded until Wednesday, when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

Cecil Prawl, 49, one of the operators of the popular Port Royal seafood restaurant Gloria's, was killed following a motor vehicle accident early this morning.

According to reports from the Port Royal Police, Prawl was driving his black Lexus SUV along a section the Port Royal Main Road towards Port Royal when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed. Eye witnesses say Prawl was flung from the vehicle onto the road suffering severe head injuries.

Prawl, who was the only occupant in the vehicle, was taken to a medical facility but was pronounced dead soon after.

The police theorise that speeding was a major contributing factor in the crash.

A 27-year-old Jamaican law student arrested in the US over lottery scamming , pleaded guilty to the charges in October and has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.

Teresa Wilson was sentenced in March after pleading guilty October 19, 2016 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

As part of her sentence, the court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $270,000, which are proceeds of the offense. Wilson -- a resident of Montego Bay, St James just completed studies at the Norman Manley Law School.

Wilson is the third defendant to plead guilty during this investigation in the case. Jamaican Yanique Coach and American Dwayne Breary were previously sentenced to 12 months' and a day, and 6 months' imprisonment, respectively, after pleading guilty July 2016.

According to court documents, an 89-year-old victim in Virginia received phone calls from two people in October and November 2014, advising that she had won $3.5 million dollars from the Mega Millions Sweepstakes.

One of the callers identified himself as being associated with the sweepstakes, and the other purported be an attorney. The callers told the victim that her name had been entered into the lottery through a magazine subscription, but that the victim needed to pay fees and taxes before receiving her winnings.

From October 31, 2014 to November 25, 2014, at the direction of the callers, the victim complied and mailed $282,600 in cash to various locations in Florida and Georgia, concealing the money in magazines and cereal boxes.

The family of the victim learned about the large withdrawals of money from the victim's bank account and contacted the FBI. On March 6, 2015, the victim was instructed by the callers to send $150,000 in cash to an apartment in Orlando, Florida. On March 19, 2015, a third co-conspirator signed for and accepted the package upon delivery. Agents then executed a search warrant and recovered the package.

During the fraud scheme, Wilson, who was attending law school in Jamaica, had co-conspirators hold packages for her containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, which they had received from the victim in the United States. Wilson would then travel from Jamaica to retrieve the money or make arrangements for another co-conspirator to travel from Jamaica to do the same.

Percussionist/singer Denver "Feluke" Smith who is suffering from Stage 4 colon cancer.have created a GoFundMe account for the entertainer

Feluke trained as a at the Alpha Boys' School in Kingston. He is known for songs like Soul Alive and Fine Wine.

In a recent interview, Thamar Williams, a close friend of Feluke, said he is in urgent need of treatment.

"He needs our help in his fight against cancer and against time and he needs it now. We desperately need your contributions to assist in getting him to Mexico for treatment and a fighting chance," she said.

Smith was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014 and placed on treatment, which she said had the disease under control. However, it has returned in a more aggressive form, affecting his lungs. Initial treatment will require a minimum of 30 days and cost US$17,000. So far, US$4,000 has been raised.

On Sunday, the death toll on the nation's roads since Thursday night, stood at seven, with a policeman numbered among the fatalities.

And with one day to go before the end of the Easter holiday, the Road Safety Unit is again urging road users to make safety a priority. Director of the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport Kenute Hare says the seven deaths on the weekend are the result of improper driver behaviour.

The fatal accidents occurred in Westmoreland, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, St. Catherine, Manchester, and St. Ann.

According to Mr. Hare, the seven road deaths so far this weekend have pushed the overall figure this year, to 98.

During the ER interview, this is what Mr Vegas said that pissed off Gaza fans: "I saw Vybz Kartel on your show already... where he said 'I know I am going to hell, Jeffrey already put in the a/c. Ever since he said that that night I watch your show when he spoke about Mavado not being intelligent, and ever since he got locked up it's like he saw something in the universe that he was going to hell.

Where Vybz Kartel is is hell... I was in Hunts Bay one day and it's like your skin was coming off.

Alleged leader of the Clansman Gang, Tesha Miller, is to appear in court on April 18, after being charged on Wednesday with two counts of making a false declaration.

This was revealed in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court Wednesday. Miller's attorney, Able-Don Foote was about to make an application for Miller's release from custody - arguing that Miller was being held without charge from April 4 - when the court was informed.

The court was told that he left the island using assumed names. The court was also told that there are other matters pending against Miller.

The reputed Clansman leader has been in police custody since he was deported from the Bahamas last week.

Miller was named as a person of interest last year by Jamaica's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch and asked to turn in himself to the authorities. Detectives reportedly believed Miller could assist them in their investigation of several of the murders recorded in Spanish Town and sections of Portmore during the first quarter of 2016.

Motown legend Stevie Wonder is reportedly set to tie the knot for the third time.

The 67-year-old music legend is planning to tie the knot with 42-year-old Tomeeka Bracy - the mother of his two youngest children - in front of a star-studded guest-list in Jamaica on June 17.

According to the Daily Mail, Stevie and Tomeeka will get married in front of both family and friends, with Stevie's other children set to play supporting roles as bridesmaids and groom's men.

Stevie and Tomeeka have been dating since he split from second wife, Kai Millard Morris. Stevie was previously married to Motown singer Syreeta Wright before they parted ways in 1972.

It's believed the wedding will be a truly A-List event, befitting Stevie's status as a living legend in the music industry, with the likes of Sir Elton John and Sam Smith set to be on the invite list.

His children from previous relationships - Aisha, 42, Kwame, 28, Sophia, Keita, 39, Kailand, 16, Mumtaz, 33, and Mandla, 11 - are thought to have all been asked to play their own roles on the wedding day.

Don't ask if Pamputtae neva give it to Nuffy over the whole Shenseea argument.

Now, after Pamputtae mek her statement that some artiste a get some big push and dem cyaan even perform the whole a social media tek it up and a chat how Pam a throw wud pon Shenseea. Den the Mr Nuffness himself, Nuffy, no do nutten more that tek Pamputtae picture and Shenseea picture side by side and start run off him nuff mout. Bout Pamputtae fi low di girl and a chat up bare tingzs.

Well, Pamputtae did seckle His Royal Nuffness.

You tink a chattingz?????

Some sinting wha Pamputtae chat no normal. She dun him. All next year this time Nuffy cyaan recover.

Nuffy with the mouth that rhyme with PATTY; Nuffy whose private part was done things that only a woman should do to a man (if they are so inclined), but in this case it was a man dressed as a woman who was doing these abominable things to His Royal Nuffness.

All of this is according to our girl Pamputtae.

Nuffy, we hear say you a hide under you bed. Nuffy, come from under the bed and defend yourself.

A 14-year-old boy in Northern Ireland has been charged with attempting to possess a sub-machine gun and 100 rounds of ammunition, after he was reportedly told by a Jamaican man to collect the items.

A report in the Belfast Telegraph says the teenager was detained during a police operation on Thursday. Police said he had handed over £150 for the ammunition to an operative, believing he could later purchase a machine gun. The accused appeared before a Magistrate's Court on Saturday, flanked by his father and three police officers.

During an interview with police, the boy provided a prepared statement naming a Jamaican man who he said had asked him to collect ammunition and a deactivated gun. He said he had ordered these on the Internet.

The only living Wailer, Bunny Wailer, celebrated a milestone 70 years old on Monday April 10 and the Reggae music pioneer told Yardflex that he enjoyed the day immensely.

"I am just here chilling out and enjoying some live music. Brushy One String is here playing his guitar and the vibes are great," a youthful sounding Bunny Wailer told Yardflex.

Neville O'Riley Livingston, stage name Bunny Wailer (Jah B)he surviving founding member of The Wailers has dedicated 55 years of service to the development and preservation of Jamaica's musical genres. Jah B's earthstrong activities will overlap with the inauguration of Rastafari Month.

The month long celebration will include a dinner dance celebration launch of WailerSka Lifestyle Brand honouring The Wailers & Skatalites starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Saturday will see a beach clean-up and community interactive session. Then, there will be a media launch of The Wailer's Museum, celebrating the life and legacy of Bunny Wailer at 10:00 a.m. at the Bournemouth Beach Complex.

The activities will culminate with a Bunny Wailer/Wailers tribute one love concert on April 22 at 10:00 p.m., celebrating the 39th Anniversary of The One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in 1978.

Having released the debut single from his destined-for-success 14-track album, Ideologies, Rastafarian singer Droop Lion is enthusiastically looking forward to taking his all-embracing message of love and unity to the entire music world.

The first single, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, was released on all digital platforms on March 15, and, already music critics have been hailing it as "a true masterpiece" and a "reggafied work of art", proving to Droop Lion and his team that their decision to use this song as the lead single was indeed on point. Well, truth be told, Have You Ever Seen The Rain has already sold over 25 million copies during the decade of the seventies for the original singers, roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival. However, this version, while not straying far from the original, still manages to give fans that signature Droop Lion sound, feel and appeal.

"We wanted to keep the nostalgia in the song, so during the production we refrained from changing up the lyrics, but at the same time, we made subtle changes which infused a different kind of vibration in the song. But, at the end of the day, we all know that a classic is a classic and you can't improve on that, you can only interpret and hope that fans will appreciate your interpretation," explained Droop Lion, who noted that he was looking forward to meeting the original singers/song-writer.

Meanwhile, the Free People Entertainment recording artiste continues his exciting musical journey with what will be predominantly a media tour, which kicks off on May 12 and runs through to May 28. He will traverse through Europe, making stops along the way in countries including the UK, France, Germany, Finland , Spain and Italy. Noting that the aim is to solidify his already burgeoning status on the European continent, Droop Lion was full of praise for his fans there who, he says continue to show his amazing love.

"It is always a joy to be in Europe," he said. "The respect and admiration is mutual and I am really looking forward to connecting with the members of the media and through them, speak to my fans. Just want to give a shout out to all the media people all over who have been gracious enough to give us air time, print space and your overall support. It means a lot to me," stated the singer, who emerged as one of the leading voices of a new reggae-soul movement. Droop Lion added that fans in Europe will see him in action on May 14 when he is scheduled to perform in London.

Miami music producer and alleged drug dealer Harrison "Cuban Harry" Garcia is on trial for federal drug charges, this after Homeland Security investigators nabbed the 26-year-old in a sting. In the trial, it has come forth that Lil Wayne and Chris Brown's affiliation with Garcia is now under investigation.

The Miami Herald reports that federal authorities are examining a $15,000 wire transfer Brown made to Garcia's bank account in 2016 that was allegedly used to purchase "lean" and other drugs. The paper adds that Garcia admitted to investigators that he sold "a lot of narcotics" to Lil Wayne, according to a federal agent's testimony on Thursday.

Garcia's attorney attempted to get the agent to elaborate on his client's confession but was refused after he cited that there's still an open investigation. The authorities believe that Garcia's high-flying lifestyle that he promoted on Instagram was supplanted by a hidden drug operation.

Veteran soundman Lloyd Coxsone of London's Sir Coxsone's Outernational recently did a 18-minute video interview criticizing popular radio disc jockey David Rodigan. Coxsone blasts Rodigan calling him "David Rob And Gone" and "a one-hour radio selector" with no sound.

He challenges Rodigan to name one Jamaican artiste who Rodigon has given the break in the United Kingdom. Speaking on behalf of the 500 sound systems of the UK, Lloyd calls for more respect from Jamaicans for his and other sounds' work during times of open racism and police brutality. Rodigan has been in the news lately following the release of his book.

So, dancehall singjay I-Octane has been left off the Reggae Sumfest line-up for 2017. So what?????? Yeah, he closed it for two years and he did well and all of that...yaadi daa da....Time to give other good (and better) artistes a time to shine.

As expected, mix-up-selector-who-have-axe-fi-grine ....yes big foot Foota Hype who always a put him foot inna him mouth.. ... a join up wid some a Octane igle fans dem and a try mek a big ting outta it.

Foota, why you doan try see if Joe will give you a work pon Sumfest. Oops! How could we forget. Joe nuh did dash out Foota from Downsound.

So it looks like Foota nah go get nu wuk pon suimfest either.

Well we deh deh pon we eyelash. Di two night dem have on bare heavyweight artiste. Reggae Sumfest to di flippin' werl!! Joe do yuh tine. Same way suh!!!!!

Don't ask if Pamputtae neva give it to Nuffy over the whole Shenseea argument.

Now, after Pamputtae mek her statement that some artiste a get some big push and dem cyaan even perform the whole a social media tek it up and a chat how Pam a throw wud pon Shenseea. Den the Mr Nuffness himself, Nuffy, no do nutten more that tek Pamputtae picture and Shenseea picture side by side and start run off him nuff mout. Bout Pamputtae fi low di girl and a chat up bare tingzs.

Well, Pamputtae did seckle His Royal Nuffness.

You tink a chattingz?????

Some sinting wha Pamputtae chat no normal. She dun him. All next year this time Nuffy cyaan recover.

Nuffy with the mouth that rhyme with PATTY; Nuffy whose private part was done things that only a woman should do to a man (if they are so inclined), but in this case it was a man dressed as a woman who was doing these abominable things to His Royal Nuffness.

All of this is according to our girl Pamputtae.

Nuffy, we hear say you a hide under you bed. Nuffy, come from under the bed and defend yourself.

Fifty-three-year-old businesswoman, Janett Moore, and her 19-year-old daughter, Tajona Rhoden both of a Pheonix Park, Dunbeholden, St. Catherine who were shot dead on Wednesday night, had been victims of a violent attack more than 15 years ago.

Moore's common law husband Wilfred Rhoden stabbed her several times and left her for dead on Old Stony Hill Road.

He then went to the family home in Kencot and inflicted wounds on Tajona and her two sisters seriously injuring them before he killed himself.

The police are investigating the killing of the two women, who were found suffering from gunshot wounds on Wednesday night.

The Office of the Children's Registry (OCR) is reporting that it recorded more than 13,000 cases of child abuse for the period January to December 2015. It said it received reports of child abuse for 18 out of every 1,000 children living in Jamaica in 2015. This represents an 18.7 per cent increase over the previous year.

Greig Smith, Registrar at the OCR, made the revelation at Thursday morning's launch of National Child Month at GraceKennedy's headquarters in downtown Kingston. Smith said more than 9,000 of the cases represented children who were reported to the OCR for the first time.

"Persons still fear of the 'informer fi dead' culture but persons are coming. Henceforth, we would have recorded over 13,000, close to 14,000 cases compared to 11,900-plus the previous year. So more persons are really coming out to talk."

He urged, "What we really want to encourage is more chidren also because we are still seeing less than two per cent of the children still making the point"

He said there is still no system in place at the registry to determine how many of these reported cases have led to a prosecution.

Earlier this week news surfaced online claiming that Suge Knight has revealed that his ex-wife Sharitha Golden and his former head of security at Death Row Records Reggie Wright Jr. are both responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. The Daily Mail was one of the major news outlets that reported the story claiming that Knight thinks that he was the target in the murder of the late rapper.

Knight's son has since weighed in on social media dismissing the reports as false. "My father was the Big protective brother of Pac," Jacob Knight wrote on Instagram. "If he knew anybody was after him he wouldnt have pac with him in the first place. These rumors are selfish and its unecessary. When you look who is trying to profit off of causing chaos in my family its somebody who doesnt know nor care about my family. Fake news will never get attention but people will stop trying to make a quick dollar off my family, especially off lies. Only negative black stories get broadcasted I see, smh. MY FATHER NEEDS HIS FAMILY AND HIS CIVIL RIGHTS BACK BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT A DOCUMENTARY. #FreeSuge."

Suge Knight's lawyer, Thaddeus Culpepper, also confirmed that his client did not make the statement as reported in the media nor did he made any such statement on behalf of his client. The former Death Row Records head is currently in jail awaiting trial for murder. Tupac Shakur has been in the news a lot lately with several of his memorabilia turning up on auction websites for sale including his handwritten lyrics, nose studs and even the car that he was murdered in. His biopic movie All Eyez On Me is set for premiere this summer in theaters.

The music video for Body, the new collab from Sean Paul and Migos has already been shot, preceding the actual release of the single .

The dancehall hitmaker and the Atlanta rap trio converged on Miami earlier this week. They were spotted on set along with a bunch of females in carnival outfits signaling a fun filled video coming for the summer. Sean Paul's longtime producer and close friend Don Corleon is the producer behind the upcoming single "Body." A release date is not yet known, but sources have confirmed with DHH that it could arrive any day now.

"Video shoot vybz today with @duttypaul @migos @quavohuncho @yrntakeoff @offsetyrn [Sean Paul, Migos, Quavo, Takeoff, Offset] #Body coming soon," Corleon wrote on IG. The video was shot in sunny South Beach and it looks like the set was just fun filled. One of the clips shows the dancehall legend filming a scene with Quavo and some females clad in their carnival outfits dancing.

Sean Paul was perhaps the biggest comeback story in music in 2016 with a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with his feature on Sia's massive hit "Cheap Thrills." He also scored a number of other hits including "Tek Weh Yuh Heart" with Tory Lanez and "Rockabye" with Clean Bandit and singer Anne Marie. Certainly, he is looking to repeat the same success this year.

Migos is also hot off a great year with the release of their new album CULTURE and their mega hit single "Bad and Boujee" turning them into a household name. After inking a new recording deal with Island Records, Sean Paul is well on his way to dropping his new album. The project is yet to be titled and there is no release date so far, but his fans are expecting it sometime this year. Sean Paul is popping for sure right now internationally and there are no signs of him slowing down.

Just-released-from-prison rapper,XXXTentacion is advising OVO boss Drake to stop being a culture vulture.

"Tell this pu*** ni*** Drake stop speaking patois," XXXTentacion said. "You are not Jamaican and am a real fu***** Jamaican am from fu**** Kingston, all of my family are from Kingston, so stop stealing my people's culture. Get the f*** up off our d**k because we don't claim you," the rapper shouted on social media ina rather long-winded rant.

Since leaving jail last week Friday, the Florida rapper has been going off on Drake and even disrespecting the Toronto rapper's mother on Twitter. Their beef stemmed from Drake allegedly stealing his flow "Look At Me" flow for his More Life single "KMT" featuring London rapper Giggs. On his last two albums, Drake taps heavily into dancehall and that has been working for him because he is currently the biggest selling rapper on the planet.

X also issued a challenge to Drake to record a whole album or even three songs that don't sound like anybody else he will walk through the streets naked.

Drake fans and members of his OVO crew have been pushing back on XXXTentacion saying that he is just seeking some attention and Drake is not giving it to him.

Following Lisa Hanna's bombshell revelations in Parliament on Tuesday, in which she called out the Culture Ministry for a myriad of ills, ranging from nepotism to reckless spending, the Minister of Culture, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has responded with a release slamming Hanna for her "hypocritical and irresponsible .... presentation which had the effect of besmirching professionals, alarming our partners and demotivating our volunteers".

See full text of Grange's letter below:

"I have noted the accusations mentioned in the presentation by the Member of Parliament for South East St Ann, Lisa Hanna, during the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today (Tuesday).

I categorically reject the allegations of wrongdoing and will seek to provide a comprehensive response in the House.

The allegations of wrongdoing relate to the use of a consultant by the JCDC and the establishment of a Secretariat in the Ministry to coordinate activities to mark Jamaica 55 -- which is an expanded programme.

That the Member has chosen to allege wrongdoing on that basis is too extraordinary to be believed as during the tenure of the Member as Minister of Youth and Culture (between 2012 and 2016):

the same consultant was engaged by the JCDC; and the Minister maintained a Secretariat to coordinate activities to mark Jamaica 50, including the sale of commemorative pins.

At last count we found tens of thousands of pins hidden at various locations across the island and overseas. The investigation is continuing.

The hiring of consultants at the JCDC pre-dates my leadership as Minister and has been a necessary support resource to the Commission in the execution of its mandate.

The mind boggles at the thought that this Member, who fired the Project Director for Jamaica 50 Secretariat on assuming office and hired another at twice the pay, is now the one coming to the Parliament to tell the nation that she found a culture of extravagance.

The Member was hypocritical and irresponsible in her presentation which had the effect of besmirching professionals, alarming our partners and demotivating our volunteers.

I give the assurance to the nation that we are managing a credible programme in compliance with applicable rules and regulations including those that govern procurement."

Spokesperson on Information, Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna, had some shocking revelations to share at her sectoral presentation Tuesday as she exposed the reckless and excessive spending in the Olivia 'Babsy' Grange-led ministry.

Hanna ripped apart the culture of extravagance at the Culture Ministry and opened what can only be described as a huge can of worms as she questioned nepotism at the ministry, the function of the JCDC and, quite interestingly, the necessity of a Jamaica 55 Secretariat, among other things.

Sections of Hanna's presentation in Parliament can be read below:

"...I was overjoyed to hear the prime minister of Jamaica punctuate his 2017 budget speech with a firm commitment to fiscal discipline.

He said, "As an independent country, we must be disciplined in managing our own fiscal affairs. The only way... is to better manage the tax revenue we raise; plug the leaking revenues we don't raise [while] growing the economy."

But, Mr Speaker, I'm forced to ask, does he believe his own words? If he does, he seems to be the only cabinet member believing.

Despite my relatively few years in politics, I've noticed a "money-mek-fi-spend" philosophy has overtaken our governance structures. Some don't seem able to distinguish between campaign funds and taxpayers' resources.

What might be just cavalier when spending campaign funds becomes otiose, uncaring, incongruous and just plain old-fashioned dishonest as custodians of taxpayers money.

Take for example the over $440 million allocated to the Ministry of Culture this year by the GOJ for Emancipendence/Heritage Week Celebrations. This is over 100 per cent more than last year's budget of $191 million. Of that $440m, only $60million has been ear-marked for the JCDC whose mandate, as prescribed in The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Act is to:

•promote cultural programmes and activities in communities throughout the Island;

• encourage and organise each year independence anniversary celebrations and other celebrations marking occasions of national interest etc.

That miniscule $60 million allocation to the JCDC is stated expressly in the budget to be for "promotion of cultural activities", more specifically restricted in a liner note to "promote at the local and national level the unearthed talents in the performing and visual arts".

So, with a sleight-of-hand, fully 85 per cent of the JCDC's statutory mandate has been removed from that agency and it has been limited to conducting music and drama festivals for children island-wide -- all this despite the JCDC Act neither being amended nor repealed.

So, Mr Speaker where has the rest of the $440m gone? The budget has allocated that money to the Ministry of Culture to "assist in the promotion of events commemorating Independence Day including the Grand Gala, Emancipation Day and National Heritage Week".

For those of you who might have missed it, there is an obscure note to the estimates of expenditure reserving $200 million of the $380 million remaining specifically for "Jamaica 55 Project."

But Mr Speaker, only you can help me to understand how, somehow, despite the presence of the JCDC, with its specific statutory remit, despite a fully staffed, budgeted for Ministry, despite the prime minister's commitment to fiscal responsibility, a separate creature called a "Jamaica 55 secretariat" has been established by Minister Grange to do the JCDC's job which is to plan and execute the festivities.

Is this how you plug the leaks in government expenditure or is this how you ensure that it is leaked to the right place?

I regret to report, Mr Speaker, that this is not the first time. A pattern seems to be developing in this ministry whereby established state agencies are bypassed in favour of personal consultants.

Mr Speaker, an external consultant was contracted to, in the words of his proposal letter (a copy of which I have) to "act as artistic director" for the 2016 Grand Gala.

The letter is dated May 27, 2016 and by June 22 the contract was awarded lock stock and barrel. The consultant's asking fee of $15 million dollars was adopted without negotiation. This fee was charged to design costumes, for choreography, team leadership "artistic direction" and to provide production assistants all of which could easily have been done by the JCDC at no cost.

My information is that the Ministry of Culture provided the production assistants promised by this Consultant, but not delivered and then arranged for the JCDC to pay an additional $2 million for these assistants. The end result was that $17 million was paid for expertise and services already available in the JCDC.

I have a copy of his contract. It provided for a contract period of June 16 to August 14, 2016 and for payment of 50 per cent of the fee on signing; another 25 per cent seven days after signing and the balance "within 7 days after implementation and submission of final report."

Yet I have right here a document headed "invoice" dated July 15, 2016. It is a very ragged and unprofessional letter written to the JCDC demanding full payment of the $15 million and the due date on the Invoice is July 15, 2016 the same date as the date of the so-called "invoice".

This invoice fails to specifically describe any of the services or to itemize how the fee is chargeable vis-a-vis each service but simply repeats the vague description of services in the Proposal letter and demands full payment. This payment was made three weeks before the Grand Gala even took place. The final cost of Grand Gala 2016 $65 million.

This "artistic director" is the same consultant whose company, is owned 50/50 with a partner. The said partner had been engaged to head the Jamaica50 Secretariat at the Ministry of Culture in 2011.

When I took over the Ministry in 2012, I found a project proposal from this partner to spend $2.5 billion. I recall the former and current minister's public outrage when the plan to implement that proposal was foiled and discarded.

This culture of extravagance had to change and, by 2015, I was able to put a stop to this "money-mek-fi-spend' culture that I inherited in 2012.

We began as soon as I took office and gradually brought the gala costs down closer to sanity. In 2015, our policies had succeeded in reducing the gala cost to $40million. We did this by using the state agencies that were in place and dispensing with these expensive external consultants.

Now, as soon as the government changes, this same consultant returns to this same ministry in 2016 and is able to burst the budget pipe so big that the leak becomes a flood! In 2016, the gala cost had already increased to $65 million. Is this the "fiscal responsibility" of which the prime minister spoke?

Mr. Speaker, I'm reliably informed that the artistic director's business partner who prepared the Jamaica 50 $2.5billion proposal is now the current minister's paid senior advisor whose responsibilities include the Jamaica 55 project.

As such, perhaps it would cause some discomfort had any part of the 2016 Grand Gala tender come in on his company's letterhead so his business partner, the artistic director, was awarded a $15m contract in his personal capacity in a most non-transparent process.

Now that one of the business partners controls "Jamaica 55" project imagine what kind of contract a bloated budget of over $380 million can be accommodated for the artistic director?

Is this how the prime minister defines "fiscal responsibility"?

Mr Speaker why is Jamaica 55 a milestone year in any event? Didn't the Prime Minister say that we must "be disciplined in managing our own fiscal affairs" and "better manage the tax revenue we raise"? Is this a national or a political priority? If the invitation to the Jamaica 55 launch at Vale Royal tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 5) is anything to go by, this "milestone" year of independence will be a grand affair.

Can I propose to the prime minister, that he begin with Jamaica 55 in exercising his newly found spiritual conversion to fiscal discipline? What's the role of the Jamaica 55 secretariat? From where does its authority to spend taxpayers' funds (or even advise on its spending) arise?

Are the Jamaica 55 funds being spent painstakingly to the adherence of the Government Procurement Rules? What's the purpose of a "consultant" when the JCDC has a Board with a clear statutory remit? When will all this end? Are going to see a "Jamaica 56" secretariat next year? Perhaps the role of the JCDC Board has been usurped. No one with any management knowledge would expect the current board with its 31 members to be effective or efficient.

Furthermore, it's my understanding that this current board suffers from the same "money-mek-fi-spend" virus. They have not only increased board fees to themselves, but done so retroactively.

Blow to prime minister's credibility

Prime Minister, your credibility has already taken a blow, having told people that the $1.5 million give back would be revenue-neutral and having flip-flopped on your opposition to sourcing funds from the NHT.

The Ministry of Culture's questionable actions exacerbate this credibility deficit and make a further mockery of the PM's stated commitment to fiscal discipline.

If the PM is serious about better management of the tax revenue we raise, then he should start in the Ministry of Culture and with a tightening of the exclusions under 1.2.1 in the Procurement Guidelines Handbook which were intended to cover creative and artistic choice only, but have been stretched beyond reasonable limits to allow for the procurement of management and consultancy services without transparency.

Government has cut the budgets for CHASE and the Student Loan Bureau by $222 million yet people are expecting to extract "the last pound of flesh" from the pockets of most, if not all Jamaicans, especially the poorest of the poor.

These people won't be content to exchange their last pound of flesh to attend ad hoc Independence activities intended to make them feel good when they can't pay their child's "free school fee" or money to pay the increased property taxes.

But the truth is, until we get rid of this "money-mek-fi-spend culture", we will never have the resources to help our youth and hone our cultural talents.

Plus all the speeches we make as politicians will be useless rhetoric. Mr Speaker, as elected MPs we have a responsibility for nation building.

On this side, we see nation building as investing in our institutions and in our human capital. It is clear from the intentional actions of this government that wasteful extravagance of our taxpayers money is the order of the day and they are more intent on benefiting a "few special friends".

We saw it in when they appointed only one "special" Jamaican contractor as the subcontractor to the Chinese for all-island infrastructural work under the JDIP, we saw it again when they appointed a few "special" contractors for the $800 million all-island bushing programme, and we see it again here in the Ministry of Culture with this "special artistic director" and the $200 million Jamaica 55 secretariat.

Mr Speaker, our citizens are watching us more closely than ever before and they can see through the smoke and mirrors that are used to intentionally obscure this perpetual "money-mek-fi-spen" culture that this administration seemingly can't do without.

Reputed leader of the notorious Klansman gang, Tesha Miller, was deported from The Bahamas yesterday, however reports are that the elusive gangster had carried the cops in The Bahamas around the fairy-tale mulberry bush for a month, in their attempt to find out exactly who he was.

Miller, who had been wanted for questioning by the Jamaican authorities, ended up in the Bahamas, but it was only his Jamaican accent that gave the fugitive away, after a long month during which he gave several aliases to the cops in The Bahamas.

After they recognised his Jamaican accent they contacted the Jamaican authorities and Tesha Miller's cover was blown wide open.

Last week Tuesday, news surfaced that Miller had been caught in The Bahamas and was scheduled for deportation the following day, but it was many days before the fugitive gangster was sent home. Miller was deported from Nassau, the capital, on a 2:40 pm flight.

His expulsion comes almost a year after he was deported from the United States, where he spent two years in prison on a charge of illegal entry.

Members of the police force are now closely monitoring sections of the St Catherine North Division and surrounding areas following the deportation of reputed Clansman Gang leader Tesha Miller from The Bahamas on Tuesday.

The police division includes volatile communities in the vicinity of Spanish Town - such as Thompson Pen, Tredegar Park, St John's Road, Rivoli and De La Vega City - where the Clansman Gang operates.

Miller was in police custody up to Wednesday morning. Police said he was scheduled to be deported last week Tuesday but the deportation was delayed because of security reasons. He was held by Bahamas authorities last month after entering the Caribbean island illegally.

The alleged gangster was deported from the United States last year. Months after his return, he was named as a person of interest by Jamaica's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) and asked to turn in himself to the authorities.

Detectives reportedly believed Miller could assist them in their investigation of several of the murders recorded in Spanish Town and sections of Portmore during the first quarter of 2016. According to one of his relatives, Miller keeps fleeing the island because he believes his life is under threat from both the police and criminals.

A brazen kidnapping attempt of a parent by a disgruntled former employee led to gunshots being fired on the compound of St Andrew Preparatory School on Cecelio Ave in Half-Way Tree Wednesday morning.

Police sources say no one was injured in the shooting.

The drama unfolded at the nearly 100 thousand dollars per term preparatory school after the mother dropped her child off at school and was surprised by the gunman who reportedly forced his way into the woman's car. Police reports are that the woman, whose name is being withheld, drove the car onto the school compound and crashed it into another vehicle before escaping.

Police sources say a licensed firearm holder, who was watching the incident unfold, then challenged the gunman and the shootout ensued.

A funeral has been held for the elderly black man who was allegedly stabbed to death by a sword-wielding "white supremacist" in New York City.

Timothy Caughman, 66, was fatally wounded during the 22 March attack, which took place while he was collecting bottles for recycling. Caughman was stabbed from behind - in the back and the chest - his injuries discovered when he staggered into a nearby police station. He was rushed to hospital, but later died from his wounds.

Speaking at the funeral, New York mayor Bill de Blasio said Caughman should be a symbol of the fight against racism, the Associated Press reported.

Alleged white supremacist James Jackson has been charged with one count each of murder in the first and second degrees as an act of terrorism in connection with the case. Authorities claim Jackson, from Baltimore, travelled to New York to target black men, allegedly in order to make a statement against interracial relationships.

"James Jackson prowled the streets of New York for three days in search of a black person to assassinate in order to launch a campaign of terrorism against our Manhattan community and the values we celebrate," District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said in a statement following the indictment.

"Last week, with total presence of mind, he acted on his plan, randomly selecting a beloved New Yorker solely on the basis of his skin colour, and stabbing him repeatedly and publicly on a Midtown street corner. James Jackson wanted to kill black men, planned to kill black men, and then did kill a black man."

The names of the those killed during Sunday morning's hacking incident in Norwood, St James have been revealed by the police.

They are 60-year-old Lascelles Bracket, who is said to be the perpetrator of the hacking, and his victim 62-year-old Herman Pryce.

Three other victims remain in hospital in serious condition.

The police say the incident took place about 10:30 a.m. yesterday in a shop when Bracket demanded to be served for a second time after he had been already served. He pulled a machete and chopped three elderly men who were also in the shop.

Police say he ran into a house where he chopped Pryce, a maintenance worker who lived in the dwelling.

Residents who came to Pryce's assistance were also attacked. Bracket was subsequently mobbed and killed by the residents.

Pryce was taken to hospital, along with the other injured men, where he was pronounced dead.

Although the 70-year-old actor directed the first movie in the franchise and starred in all three, he has decided not to return for the fourth movie, due to creative differences with Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner over the script and director.

The Expendables 4' was set to reunite series staples Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dolph Lundgren.

Stallone who has also directed the 'Rambo' and the 'Rocky' franchises, helmed the first 'Expendables' back in 2010.

Simon West took over the reins for 'Expendables 2' and Patrick Hughes on 'Expendables 3'.

Stallone has continued to star in front of the camera in all the films alongside regulars; Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Jet Li, Bruce Willis and Wesley Snipes.

Tyrese Gibson was once the man crush Monday for women across the planet but these days the singer/actor is living a quiet life off the market.

Last month, Tyrese confirmed that he secretly got married to his girlfriend Samantha Lee. We've learned that the two got married on Valentine's Day after only been dating for around a year and a half, TMZ reported. Samantha is also of Jamaican and Ecuadorian and was recently on the island vacationing. Since announcing their marriage, both Tyrese and Samantha have been getting some backlash from his legion of female fans on social media.

Some of the actor's fans are angry that he portray her as his "black queen" when she is not 100% black. Despite the criticisms, Tyrese promises to keep his married life private for the most part except for the occasional updates on social media. "So many people give a lot of power to "The Ring" as a man I had to wait till I truly truly felt like my WORDS and my FEET would walk in the same direction as my HEART," he wrote. "Not to worry I won't be updating you guys on every detail and every aspect of our life."

During her recent interview with Anthony Miller on ER, Spice opened up about being the top female dancehall artist in the game. "I am the only female to have gain over 70 million views on a single song, so I would definitely say that I am the top female right now," she said.

When asked about who she thinks the king of dancehall is right now, she vehemently say it's incarcerated deejay Vybz Kartel, with whom she has previously collaborated with. "Everybody know say a Gaza me say and not because Vybz Kartel is incarcerated doesn't mean am going to turn my back on him and start say someone else, because a lot of fans jump ship," Spice told Miller. "Am going to stay loyal because Vybz Kartel gave me my first international record 'Romping Shop' so I am not going to switch."

Spice also said that she thinks Vybz Kartel will be freed in his upcoming appeal case.

Grammy-winning Reggae artiste, Stephen Marley makes gis appearance on two new international collabs. Rapper Pitbull included Marley on his new album Climate Change with Options, while legendary rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony dropped the single Coming Home.

Pitbull's Options lends itself to Stephen Marley's catchy vocals for the chorus as well highlights Jamaica and its party culture in the recently released music video that has over two million views on Youtube, two weeks after its debut. Pitbull and Marley will perform Options on WrestleMania this Sunday, April 2.

Stephen Marley is now on tour in the United States, promoting his 19-track fourth studio album Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life. The album features a number of local stars.

Back in December she filed to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian, ahead of her marriage to Rob.

However it has now been reported that Blac Chyna has been denied the rights to the name - following a battle with Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian in court.

According to TMZ, the 28-year-old has been blocked from using the name whether she marries on/off ex Rob, 30, or not - after the three sisters opposed the decision in order to stop Blac profiting from the family name.

Months before she and Rob welcomed the birth of their daughter Dream, Blac filed to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian.

However in December it was reported by TMZ that sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney moved to block the curvaceous star from using the name in future business ventures.

An airline pilot who was so drunk he appeared to pass out in the cockpit before takeoff was sentenced on Monday to eight months in jail in Canada.

Miroslav Gronych, 37, pleaded guilty last month to having care and control of an aircraft while he had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

The Slovakian pilot was escorted off a Sunwing Airlines plane in Calgary on December 31 before a flight scheduled to end in Cancun, Mexico.

The court heard that when Gronych got on the plane, he struggled to hang up his coat, was slurring his words and was staggering. The court was also told the co-pilot suggested Gronych should leave the plane, but he eventually returned to the cockpit, sat down and appeared to pass out with his face resting on the window.

Judge Anne Brown also banned Gronych from flying for one year after his release. She noted he has been in treatment for alcoholism, has abstained from drinking since the event and has been "thoroughly shamed."

The court heard that Gronych, who is married and has two young children, has lost his job.

The defense had asked for a three- to six-month sentence while the prosecution asked the judge to give Gronych one year in jail.

His defense lawyer told the court last month that Gronych couldn't sleep the night before his flight and felt like he was coming down with a cold. He took a couple of shots of vodka and a Tylenol, and planned to wake up in time to let people know he wouldn't make the flight. He didn't set an alarm and was awakened by a call asking him where he was, his lawyer said. He drank the rest of the bottle of vodka and left for the flight.

When police arrived, they found his pilot's wings were pinned upside down. They smelled alcohol on his breath and he couldn't stand up straight.

Sunwing ,a low-cost Canadian carrier, has said it has a zero tolerance policy on crew members consuming alcohol within 12 hours of going on duty.

The jury is still out on whether or not there is any truth to online reports that jailed run-di-oplace deejay, Vybz Kartel has given his life to God. A popular website claims to have the complete text of a letter allegedly sent to popular Irie FM personality, Mutabaruka. from the pen of Addi the Teacher. Please note, however, that Yardflex sources have confiormed that Muta has received no such letter. Anyway, please see text of alleged letter below:

"I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off me. Like the woman at the well, I was searching for things that could not satisfy, but glory be to the most high God, I am now drinking from a well that can never run dry.

To all my family, friends and fans out there who are missing me and longing to see me, have no fear, if it is God's will, it will be done and you will see me soon. But do not get too caught up in Vybz, seek and find Jesus Christ and you will have all that you need. I wish for you the peace that I have found. Please seek and find Jesus Christ. My baptism is in the work and I am just waiting on the prison's Chaplin to provide me with a baptism date. I love you and I will see you soon. I no longer want to be called "world boss". God is the boss of the world and I am his child. Almighty God mi seh... Adijah Palmer."

Students and teachers at Merl Grove High School on Constant Spring Road ran for their lives on Friday afternoon when gunshots erupted and disrupted the normal hum of life.

Distraught students were convinced that this was a school shooting because, as they told YardFlex, the gunshots sounded like they were on the school compound. Those who were standing at the bus shed scampered in all directions, fleeing from the shots.

When the smoke cleared, a policeman lay dead uner the bus shed, his life snuffed out by an alleged robber.

Reports are that the policeman, identified as Constable Leighton Hanson, was responding to reports of suspicious men at certain premises when he was attacked by one of them.

An investigator at the scene said the cop was disarmed by the man and shot once in the head.

His attacker was shot by other policemen.

Both were taken to a medical facility where the cop was pronounced dead.

Motorists were advised to avoid Constant Spring Road in the vicinity of the Merl Grove High School where the shooting took place.

The robber who reportedly disarmed a police constable along Constant Spring Road in St Andrew and murdered him on Friday afternoon is dead. The man reportedly succumbed to his injuries while being treated in hospital.

Head of the Andrew North Police Superintendent Meveral Smith says the attacker was shot and injured after killing the policeman, identified as Constable Leighton Hanson at the bus stop at Merl Grove High School in St Andrew.

According to one report, Constable Hanson was investigating reports of a robbery and stabbing incident on a bus in the vicinity of the Merl Grove High School. While the man was being searched by Hanson, he grabbed the policeman and engaged him in a tussle. The attacker grabbed the policeman's gun and shot him on the head, killing him.

After the shooting, the area was cordoned off chaos ensued as traffic piled up in all directions, creating a gridlock on Constant Spring Road, certain sections of Red Hills Road and roads leading off.

CMC is reporting that at least 12 Trinidad and Tobago nationals are due to arrive home on Friday after they were deported from Turkey, but the police say they have no indication as to whether or not they are linked to nationals travelling to the Middle East to fight for the terrorist group, ISIS.

"We expect 12 persons who are reportedly deported from Turkey. They will be escorted here by Turkish agents. We do have information regarding some of the 12 persons, some of the information we have to verify. We have had limited information from the Turkish authorities," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police, Wayne Dick.

He told a news conference that while the 12 nationals 'at this point" will not be arrested" since they would be considered just "12 persons who are deported from Turkey".

"We have limited information from the Turkish authorities and we are hoping when they get here through continued efforts and investigations, we will learn why they have been deported," he said.

Last August, a Turkish newspaper reported that nine Trinidad and Tobago nationals were detained after the police nabbed a Syrian man suspected of attempting to smuggle them into southern Turkey to join the ISIS terrorist organisation.

The "Daily Sabah" reported that the police had stopped a car with a license plate from southern Mersin province when it entered south-central Adana province with 10 people, including the driver and nine Trinidad and Tobago citizens.

The paper reported that after an initial probe, police found the Syrian man, Asem H, was trying to take the Trinidad and Tobago nationals to the war-torn country, where they would have been recruited by ISIS.

The Syrian suspect was remanded in custody after an appearance at a local court, while the nine Trinidad and Tobago nationals were transferred to Adana Provincial Migration Management for deportation procedures, the report said.

Police officers have been assured that justifiable use of force will be defended but Commissioner Quallo was keen to point out that he would not tolerate the abuse of ordinary citizens.

"Let's be clear, I will not stand for, or defend any of you my colleagues who wantonly abuse the rights of the citizens we swear to protect and serve," he declared. That's the promise from George Fitzroy Quallo, the 29th Commissioner of Police.

He was officially installed during a ceremony at the Police Officers Club on Hope Road in St. Andrew this afternoon.

The new commissioner argued that in some instances, the use of force would be required, especially in dealing with hardened criminals, and he vowed to protect his fellow officers in that regard.

"Yes, at times the police will, of necessity, respond with deadly force (but) colleagues, I will vigorously defend you when you have no option but to use justifiable force to protect your lives and the lives of our citizens. I make no apologies for taking this principled decision," he said.

The Appeal Court has dismissed the case brought by the Gordon "Butch" Stewart led Gorstew Limited against the State. The ruling was handed down on Friday.

The Court said it did not find favour with the appeal and promised to give its reasoning in writing at a later date.

Gorstew's attorney, Hugh Wildman, said the matter will now be taken to the UK Privy Council.

Gorstew appealed against a 2016 ruling by the Full Court to reject its application to challenge the decision of Resident Magistrate Lorna Shelly Williams to free three former ATL executives of fraud charges. Gorstew had applied to the Full Court for leave to seek judicial review of the 2014 decision of the Magistrate. Gorstew wanted the verdict quashed and the matter heard by another judge. But the Court described the application as vexatious and lacking merit.

Patrick Lynch, Catherine Barber and Dr Jeffrey Pyne were freed in August 2014 after the magistrate upheld no-case submissions by their attorneys. They were accused of distributing nearly $2 billion in interest and surplus to members of ATL's pension scheme without the consent of the company's Chairman, Gordon "Butch" Stewart.

Reports are that, at approximately 7:30 pm, Castillo and Thomas were sitting in a vehicle along Watson Drive in Gregory Park, when a car drove up and occupants of the vehicle opened fire, hitting the two men several times.

The attackers escaped.

Police were summoned and the men taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

The Romanian national Daniel Seteu and Jamaican Andre Sterling, both of whom are suspected to be part of the million dollar international ATM scamming ring appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court Wednesday.

The men were reportedly arrested between Monday and Tuesday last week at an ATM machine at the Pavilion Mall in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew.

Seteu was reportedly held with more than 20 fraudulent ATM cards and over $150,000 while allegedly making withdrawals from the machine in Sterling's company.

They were busted by members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Branch (C-TOC). Queen's Counsel Tom Tavares-Finson is representing Seteu and attorney Donahue Martin represents Sterling.

The police are reportedly hot on the heels of the other two Romanian nationals who are believed to be in the island, and who have also been implicated in the ATM scam that has reportedly so far cost Jamaicans over $50 million.

International Telecommunications Union's Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day observed across the world

Kingston, Jamaica: Today girls and young women from 15 schools will gather to compete in a Caribbean Hackathon in observance of International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day.

On Thursday, April 27, 2017, the Spanish Court Hotel's Worthington Conference Centre will be filled with students from Wolmer's Girls', Hillel Academy, St Andrew High School, St Elizabeth Technical High School, Campion College, Manchester High School, Immaculate Conception High School, American International School Kingston, Hampton School, Excelsior Community College, University of the West Indies, Moneague Community College, Caribbean Institute for Media and Communication, University of Technology Jamaica, and Northern Caribbean University, vying for prizes at the Jamaican leg of the Caribbean Hackathon.

The girls and young women will be engaged in hands-on activities, guided by a tech mentor, using ICT to create, innovate and generate solutions to various challenges. The activities include mobile app building, animation, robotics, digital video production and digital art works, and web development.

A day-long immersion in ICT, the 'hackathon' will give the girls and young women, an opportunity to envision themselves, not only as users of technology, but creators.

The 'hackathon', led by a group of women consultants through a joint partnership between Cotton Tree Consulting and Change Makers Development Ltd, will take place simultaneously, in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

"Scotiabank is pleased to be part of an initiative that will inspire and excite our girls through their engagement with technology. This unique opportunity is one we are sure will not only encourage interest but ultimately galvanise the talent of Jamaican women in the development of the ICT industry," said Yanique Forbes Patrick, vice-president of marketing at Scotiabank, regional platinum sponsor of the hackathon.

The event is also supported regionally by Gold Sponsor LOOP in partnership with the University of the West Indies.

Let's Talk Tech

A number of local, regional and international role model tech speakers will also be streamed, giving inspirational messages of support to the participants as over 40 messages can viewed over the ITU portal URL: http://www.itu.int/girlsinict.

Messages will come from Trinidad-born Aaerospace engineer Camille Wardrop Alleyne, who currently serves as an assistant programme scientist for the International Space Station, based at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre in Houston in Texas. Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Bason College, Jennifer Bailey, whose speciality is identifying effective strategies for generating innovation breakthroughs, while mitigating innovation risks will also have a message.

Nadeen Matthews, National Commercial Bank (NCB) chief digital and marketing officer and CEO of the NCB Foundation expressed that the hackathon is part of an important global movement to increase female representation in ICT.

"Digitisation is a global shift and our ability to effectively compete as a nation and as a corporate entity requires that we generate a talent pool with the requisite skill set to meet the growing demands. It is exciting to see so many Jamaican companies collaborating to make this a reality in Jamaica. NCB, as local platinum sponsor, is delighted to be part of this movement," Matthews concluded.

The Hackathon is sponsored locally by Phase 3 Productions, and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Simple Facts about Girls in ICT Day Worldwide

Over the last six years, over 240,000 girls and young women have taken part across 160 countries. Since the start of the initiative, the ITU Girls In ICT Twitter account has reached over half a billion people with the hashtag #GirlsinICT. In 2016, the hashtag reached 68.4 million, with over 237 million deliveries, representing the potential number of times that people saw a GirlsinICT tweet.

Supporting the global Girls in ICT movement empowers girls and young women to move from innovation to impact.

Lil Wayne got angry and rightfully so then ended his performance after a fan threw a drink on him.

Seems some of Birdman fans also goes to Lil Wayne concerts. The Young Money rapper was performing at Garden City in Idaho on Sunday night when the incident took place. He was performing his smash hit single "A Milli" when suddenly drink started raining down from the audience. Weezy stopped performing at that moment and even contemplated throwing his microphone at the culprit.

Lil Wayne manages to control himself for a bit and hinted that he didn't want to do something that would earn him a lawsuit. "Hold on let me tell you something, I don't know if you thought I was a busta but I'm rich so I can't throw nothing back," Weezy said before calling in his goon squad to throw something back. Back in 2015, Birdman threw vodka on Lil Wayne while he was performing on stage at LIV Nightclub in Miami. At the time Weezy was performing one of his anti-Cash Money singles.

Social media dragged on-the-rise female artiste Shenseea through the mud and sludge on Monday night into Tuesday after Vybz Kartel (and his team) posted the song Loodie on VEVO, with the note that "My song was never a collaboration!"

Of course, "Loodie" as the world knows it is a colab with Shenseea and Kartel and is credited as the song that gave Shenseea her bus in the music biz.Clearly, something is amiss right here. The song has been playing since last year, why is it that Kartel is now releasing it as a solo singe?

There is a feeling, according to some websites, that for months now, some Gazanation fans have been complaining that Shenseea is not giving Vybz Kartel enough props for single-handedly launching her dancehall career.

Several sites have quoted "Sources inside the Gaza" as saying that Vybz Kartel feels like he never get enough credit for the massive success of the single and feels like he wasn't properly compensated.

Therefore, social media had a field day - and night - bashing Shenseea left, right and centre. The comments about the poor girl were simply horrid. Let's hope her team puts out a statement that will put out a statement that will dispel all the rumours that continue to swirl.

As of the time of writing, producers of the single, So Unique Records have remained silent. Producer Elvis Redwood was not available for comment.

A US Congressman has proposed to amend his country's Electronic Fund Transfer Act to impose a fee for remittance transfers to certain foreign countries, and for other purposes.

The Bill, introduced on March 30, 2017 in the US House of Representatives by Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, seeks to fund US President Donald Trump's proposed wall on the US-Mexico border through a tax on remittances.

The Bill, which is being cited as the Border Wall Funding Act of 2017, proposes to tax remittances to Jamaica and 41 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The plan is for a remittance fee equal to two per cent of the dollar amount to be transferred. The Bill has been referred to the US Congressional subcommittee on crime, terrorism, homeland security, and investigations. Congressman Rogers wants a speedy passage so it can take effect by this September.

A recent estimate suggests the wall could take more than US$21 billion to build over a three-and-a-half year period. Jamaicans sent about US$2 billion in remittances from the US last year.

If that level is kept up, they would pay close to US$40 million in the remittance tax.

The St Andrew businessman captured on video pointing his licensed firearm at several motorists along West King's House Road in St Andrew during Carnival festivities has been scheduled to appear in court next week Tuesday, May 2.

The police say 28-year-old restaurant manager Zachary Reid was charged with additional offences yesterday afternoon after being interviewed in the presence of his attorney.

The additional charges are failure to handover a firearm for inspection, assault at common law and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

Denny Johns a Jamaican-born American who was indicted by US prosecutors for allegedly attempting to kill his wife and her sister in Queens, New York, was extradited on Tuesday. He was ordered extradited last month when he appeared before the St. Andrew Parish Court.

US prosecutors reported that on May 30, 2012, Johns was involved in a dispute with his wife when he pulled a gun and fired at her. The bullet missed and struck a wall in the couple's bedroom. Her sister who shared the apartment went to her assistance and tried to wrestle the weapon from Mr. Johns. During the tussle, the wife went under the bed to hide. Johns fired a bullet hitting his wife in the chest. He then placed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger, but it did not discharge.

He was captured in Westmoreland late last year. Johns was taken out of the island by US Marshals.

US President Donald Trump was forced to ditch plans to find cash for his border wall in this week's spending bill.

Among the measures Trump was hoping would help to pay for the wall is a two per cent fee on remittances to certain countries including Jamaica. But the BBC says the president's close adviser, Kellyanne Conway, has said funding for the wall would be left out of a budget measure that must be passed by Friday.

Building the wall, paid for by Mexico, was a key campaign promise. Democrats had threatened to block the bill if money was earmarked for the wall, so its omission may now avert a government shutdown. But the president insisted on Twitter that he still supported the wall and that it would be built.

He reportedly told a private meeting with members of the conservative media last night that he might be open to funding the wall later in the year.

The Half Way Tree police on Sunday night arrested a man who was seen walking around with a gun in his hand in the district, where annual carnival festivities were being held.

"We are aware of the incident and can confirm that the man was arrested and is currently being questioned at this time," a senior officer from the St Andrew Central Police Division told Loop News on Monday morning.

Reports are that the man - identified as a local businessman - was seen parading with the gun along West Kings House Road and other sections of Half Way Tree minutes after he left a popular carnival party.

Alleged eyewitnesses said the man appeared to be drunk at the time.

A video of the man walking around with the weapon has been making the rounds on social media. It is not clear if anyone was harmed by the man.

There are further reports that the man has now been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and resisting arrest.

Olivia "Babsy" Grange Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports is defending Government's position on the staging of Jamaica 55 celebrations amid a slew of questions and concerns raised by her Opposition counterpart Lisa Hanna.

Grange, in a 17-page response e-mailed to the media on Saturday, said that the celebration of Emancipation and Independence is an act to memorialise and pay homage to the struggles, sacrifices and triumphs of "our ancestors".

"For Jamaica 55 we have decided, as we did for Jamaica 21 and Jamaica 25, to include activities outside of the normal course of events to mark our Emancipation and Independence," she explained.

According to Grange, these activities include a series of projects to ensure that celebrations leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Hanna, in her Sectoral Debate contribution to Parliament earlier this month, insisted that Grange had embarked on a "culture of extravagance", noting that the ministry's budgetary allocation for the financial year 2017/2018 had seen a 130 per cent increase from last year's.

The former culture minister raised concerns about the $440-million budgetary allocation for the emancipation and heritage week celebrations this year, which she pointed out was $190 million more than the expenditure for the previous year.

"One of few countries to celebrate failure and so called independence.

Jamaica is unable to farm and export Ganja legally, unable to erase her many criminal financiers, unable to severely punish shottas, unable to make the most from the over 3 million Tourists p/a, unable to govern the country with a oversized parliament and local government, unable to maximize on growth areas such as Agriculture and Reggae music, unable to fix Squatting, unable to update outdated laws and unable to put an end to Garrisons and rising inequality.

This must be the celebration of 55 years of failure masked as 55 years of independence!"

Justin Gatlin and the United States roared to victory in the men's 4x100m relay as rivals Canada and Jamaica dropped batons at the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas on Saturday.

Run down by Canadian Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse in the earlier heats, Gatlin romped home in the final, leading the U.S. team of Leshon Collins, Mike Rodgers and Ronnie Baker to victory in 38.43 seconds.

Barbados claimed the silver and China surprised by taking the bronze.

Australia finished fourth ahead of France as both joined the medalists in qualifying for the IAAF world championships in August.

Reports are that three masked men -- armed with rifle and handgun -- stormed the Hayes Police Station in Clarendon Sunday morning with what is believed to have been ugly intentions.

The shocking incident occurred around 2:47am as the island has been experiencing inclement weather. The armed men arrived at the Hayes Police station in a car and two of the gang hopped out holding their weapons. However, a fearless cops immediately challenged the thugs an alert police officer challenged the men.

According to online reports, two of the men exited the vehicle wearing masks -- one armed with a rifle and the other with a handgun.

The man brandishing the rifle was about to fire on the station when he and his criminal friend were fired on by the alert cop.

The criminal with the rifle escaped in the motorcar and the man with the handgun escaped on foot.

Reputed gangster Tesha Miller has finally been released from police custody without charge.

His attorney Bert Samuels said Miller was met by relatives on his release. Earlier Thursday, Kingston and St Andrew Parish Judge Vaughn Smith ruled that Miller must be charged by 6 o'clock or released from police custody.

Miller, who is believed to be the leader of the St Catherine-based Clansman gang, had been in police custody since April 4 when he was deported from The Bahamas.

In court this morning, his attorney Able-Don Foote described as sinister, the continued detention of the reputed gangster. Tuesday, Miller pleaded guilty to making a false declaration to Jamaican immigration officials and was fined the maximum $100.

However, he had remained in the custody of the police, who had indicated that he was the subject of a number of investigations. Last evening, Miller was interviewed by detectives from the Major Investigations Taskforce and the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime division.

Sprint superstar Usain Bolt was caught up in a fatal motorcycle crash in Jamaica which claimed the life of Jamaican-born Germaine Mason, who was a close friend of Bolt. Reports are that the two were among a group of athletes and entertainers who had attended a soca party at Kingston's Waterfront that evening.

Team Jamaica, a website run by Jamaican athletics supporters, said a number of athletes, including Bolt and Frater, were riding in a convoy with Mason when the crash took place, but other reports say that Bolt was on his way home when he heard of the accident and immediately made his way to the scene.

Mason, 34, who was a Jamaican star athlete and record holder prior to joining Team Great Britain and winning a silver medal in high jumper at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, died Thursday in the early morning crash which occurred near Kingston, police said, when he lost control of his motorcycle.

Bolt, Jamaica's eight-time Olympic sprint champion and 11-time world champion, and fellow sprinter Michael Frater were immediately at the scene.

"Usain Bolt was part of the group that came by and he was very, very emotional, and still is," police senior superintendent Calvin Allen told the BBC. "I understand they are very close friends."

Mason began competing for Britain, his father's homeland, in 2006 after having taken bronze for Jamaica at the 2004 world indoors and claimed silver at the 2000 world juniors in Chile and bronze at the 2002 world juniors in Kingston. Both the prime minister of Jamaica and the leader of the opposition have extended their condolences to Mason's relatives and friends.

Fuzz Caan, a senior high jump coach at British Athletics who worked with Mason during his time as Olympic champion, said "Germaine was an outstanding athlete and a truly lovely man. He had a wry sense of humour and was a pleasure to be around."

"The whole of the British Olympic Aassociation is incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Germaine Mason," said BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney.

"Germaine was a great athlete, an Olympian and a silver medal-winning part of Team GB who made history at Beijing 2008. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

Other British athletics stars were stunned and saddened at the news.

"This is just awful. Such sad news," tweeted 2012 London Olympic and three-time world heptathlon champion Jess Ennis-Hill.

"Heart goes out to friends and family of Germaine Mason on this sad day," tweeted 1992 Barcelona Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie. "R I P Germaine. Never forgotten."

Olympic silver medal high jumper Germaine Mason died in a motorcycle crash in Kingston, Jamaica, early Thursday morning.

Jamaican-born Mason was heading into Kingston at around 4.20am when he lost control of his motorbike along the Palisadoes main road and crashed, dying instantly.

The 34-year-old was reportedly riding in the front of a convoy with several other athletes. Many reports say that track star Usain Bolt, was among the athletes, but according to Yardfles sources, Bolt was not a part of the convoy. Bolt, who is a close friend of Mason's, reportedly arrived at the scene after the accident.

Mason, who has a five-year-old son, is Jamaica's record holder in the event at 2.34m, or 7.67 feet. He had been trained by the Stephen Francis-coached MVP, prior to 2006 when he left Jamaica to represent Britain. The high jump star, who was born in Kingston, lived in Jamaica, however, Mason, whose father is British, had dual citizenship.

The athlete competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and won a silver medal for Great Britain in the high jump event.

Mason continued to compete until he retired from the sport in 2016.

Mason had been with several athletes, including 100m and 200m world record holder Bolt, 2005 world championship 100m silver medallist Michael Frater, and former Bolton defender Ricardo Gardner before Thursday's crash occurred.

After news broke of Mason's death, several athletes poured out tributes on social media, including Johnson Thomson and Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Reports were that dancehall artiste Popcaan and Canadian rapper Drake on Sunday officially released a collaboration entitled "My Chargie"

The single, according to some very questionable "reliable sources" was said to be produced by Notnice Records. However, reports have surface since then denouncing the single as fake. It is said that although there is a new Popcaan Drake collab in the making, the one on Youtube, My Chargie, was definitely not it

Drake and The "Unruly Boss" previously teamed up for "Controlla" however that single was only leaked online.

Popcaan was cut from the album version for Drake's chart-topping VIEWS released in 2016. He was controversially replaced by Beenie Man.

Steve Stephens, the Facebook killer, killed himself about 90 minutes outside Cleveland during a high speed chase with cops in Pennsylvania.

Police in Erie, PA say Stephens' body was found inside his white Ford Fusion around 11:10 AM ET on Tuesday. The police were in pursuit of Stephens at the time after they responded to a tip that Stephens' car had been spotted in a nearby McDonald's parking lot.

Cops say Stephens' car came to a stop in the middle of the road near a former elementary school, and then he took his own life. He died on scene.

Facebook killer Steve Stephens was undone by McDonald's employees who ID'd him and made him wait a little extra time for his order so the cops could come and catch him.

Stephens went through the drive-thru at the McDonald's on Buffalo Road in Erie, PA when one of the workers recognized him. He ordered a 20-piece McNugget and a large fry ... but workers made it seem the fries weren't ready so they could buy time.

According to the restaurant's manager ... Stephens got his nuggets, but then said he had to go and he drove off without the fries. It was enough time for cops to get on his tail.

Stephens was involved in a high-speed police chase shortly afterward, before committing suicide in his car.

It was a bloody Easter Sunday and Monday in Kingston 2 after two men were killed in separate incidents in the area.

On Sunday, 25-y-o Youlando Vaccianna of Hillside Crescent was gunned down by a lone gunman about 7:00 pm.

Reports from the Rockfort Police are that Vaccianna was allegedly walking along the roadway when he was approached by the man who pulled a firearm and opened fire hitting him several times. The gunman escaped.

Vaccianna was rushed to hospital after the police were alerted, however, he died while undergoing treatment.

Claudiu Precup, a Romanian man who has been charged in connection with the ATM scam uncovered locally, was remanded until Wednesday, when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

Two Romanian nationals who could be part of an international scamming operation were refused entry into Jamaica last week when they were intercepted at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay .

Head of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime branch, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Clifford Chambers says two men attempted to enter the island but were refused entry by local authorities who have observed a recent trend of a number of foreigners, especially Romanians, setting up scamming operations in Jamaica. Elements from the Romanian criminal network have been fleecing millions of dollars from the bank accounts of individuals at ATMs across Jamaica.

Over $50 million has reportedly been been stolen by the men so far .

Immigration officials had been placed on alert for these individuals entering the island. They were sent back on a flight to Romania.

Regional security dosier indicate that one of the men had been arrested, charged and convicted of fraud-related offences in The Cayman Islands, while there are indications of the ATM scam extending to Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Canada.

This is while Claudiu Precup, a Romanian man who has been charged in connection with the ATM scam uncovered locally, was remanded until Wednesday, when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court last week.

Cecil Prawl, 49, one of the operators of the popular Port Royal seafood restaurant Gloria's, was killed following a motor vehicle accident early this morning.

According to reports from the Port Royal Police, Prawl was driving his black Lexus SUV along a section the Port Royal Main Road towards Port Royal when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed. Eye witnesses say Prawl was flung from the vehicle onto the road suffering severe head injuries.

Prawl, who was the only occupant in the vehicle, was taken to a medical facility but was pronounced dead soon after.

The police theorise that speeding was a major contributing factor in the crash.

A 27-year-old Jamaican law student arrested in the US over lottery scamming , pleaded guilty to the charges in October and has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.

Teresa Wilson was sentenced in March after pleading guilty October 19, 2016 for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

As part of her sentence, the court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $270,000, which are proceeds of the offense. Wilson -- a resident of Montego Bay, St James just completed studies at the Norman Manley Law School.

Wilson is the third defendant to plead guilty during this investigation in the case. Jamaican Yanique Coach and American Dwayne Breary were previously sentenced to 12 months' and a day, and 6 months' imprisonment, respectively, after pleading guilty July 2016.

According to court documents, an 89-year-old victim in Virginia received phone calls from two people in October and November 2014, advising that she had won $3.5 million dollars from the Mega Millions Sweepstakes.

One of the callers identified himself as being associated with the sweepstakes, and the other purported be an attorney. The callers told the victim that her name had been entered into the lottery through a magazine subscription, but that the victim needed to pay fees and taxes before receiving her winnings.

From October 31, 2014 to November 25, 2014, at the direction of the callers, the victim complied and mailed $282,600 in cash to various locations in Florida and Georgia, concealing the money in magazines and cereal boxes.

The family of the victim learned about the large withdrawals of money from the victim's bank account and contacted the FBI. On March 6, 2015, the victim was instructed by the callers to send $150,000 in cash to an apartment in Orlando, Florida. On March 19, 2015, a third co-conspirator signed for and accepted the package upon delivery. Agents then executed a search warrant and recovered the package.

During the fraud scheme, Wilson, who was attending law school in Jamaica, had co-conspirators hold packages for her containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, which they had received from the victim in the United States. Wilson would then travel from Jamaica to retrieve the money or make arrangements for another co-conspirator to travel from Jamaica to do the same.

Percussionist/singer Denver "Feluke" Smith who is suffering from Stage 4 colon cancer.have created a GoFundMe account for the entertainer

Feluke trained as a at the Alpha Boys' School in Kingston. He is known for songs like Soul Alive and Fine Wine.

In a recent interview, Thamar Williams, a close friend of Feluke, said he is in urgent need of treatment.

"He needs our help in his fight against cancer and against time and he needs it now. We desperately need your contributions to assist in getting him to Mexico for treatment and a fighting chance," she said.

Smith was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2014 and placed on treatment, which she said had the disease under control. However, it has returned in a more aggressive form, affecting his lungs. Initial treatment will require a minimum of 30 days and cost US$17,000. So far, US$4,000 has been raised.

On Sunday, the death toll on the nation's roads since Thursday night, stood at seven, with a policeman numbered among the fatalities.

And with one day to go before the end of the Easter holiday, the Road Safety Unit is again urging road users to make safety a priority. Director of the Road Safety Unit in the Ministry of Transport Kenute Hare says the seven deaths on the weekend are the result of improper driver behaviour.

The fatal accidents occurred in Westmoreland, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, St. Catherine, Manchester, and St. Ann.

According to Mr. Hare, the seven road deaths so far this weekend have pushed the overall figure this year, to 98.

During the ER interview, this is what Mr Vegas said that pissed off Gaza fans: "I saw Vybz Kartel on your show already... where he said 'I know I am going to hell, Jeffrey already put in the a/c. Ever since he said that that night I watch your show when he spoke about Mavado not being intelligent, and ever since he got locked up it's like he saw something in the universe that he was going to hell.

Where Vybz Kartel is is hell... I was in Hunts Bay one day and it's like your skin was coming off.

Alleged leader of the Clansman Gang, Tesha Miller, is to appear in court on April 18, after being charged on Wednesday with two counts of making a false declaration.

This was revealed in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court Wednesday. Miller's attorney, Able-Don Foote was about to make an application for Miller's release from custody - arguing that Miller was being held without charge from April 4 - when the court was informed.

The court was told that he left the island using assumed names. The court was also told that there are other matters pending against Miller.

The reputed Clansman leader has been in police custody since he was deported from the Bahamas last week.

Miller was named as a person of interest last year by Jamaica's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch and asked to turn in himself to the authorities. Detectives reportedly believed Miller could assist them in their investigation of several of the murders recorded in Spanish Town and sections of Portmore during the first quarter of 2016.

Motown legend Stevie Wonder is reportedly set to tie the knot for the third time.

The 67-year-old music legend is planning to tie the knot with 42-year-old Tomeeka Bracy - the mother of his two youngest children - in front of a star-studded guest-list in Jamaica on June 17.

According to the Daily Mail, Stevie and Tomeeka will get married in front of both family and friends, with Stevie's other children set to play supporting roles as bridesmaids and groom's men.

Stevie and Tomeeka have been dating since he split from second wife, Kai Millard Morris. Stevie was previously married to Motown singer Syreeta Wright before they parted ways in 1972.

It's believed the wedding will be a truly A-List event, befitting Stevie's status as a living legend in the music industry, with the likes of Sir Elton John and Sam Smith set to be on the invite list.

His children from previous relationships - Aisha, 42, Kwame, 28, Sophia, Keita, 39, Kailand, 16, Mumtaz, 33, and Mandla, 11 - are thought to have all been asked to play their own roles on the wedding day.

Don't ask if Pamputtae neva give it to Nuffy over the whole Shenseea argument.

Now, after Pamputtae mek her statement that some artiste a get some big push and dem cyaan even perform the whole a social media tek it up and a chat how Pam a throw wud pon Shenseea. Den the Mr Nuffness himself, Nuffy, no do nutten more that tek Pamputtae picture and Shenseea picture side by side and start run off him nuff mout. Bout Pamputtae fi low di girl and a chat up bare tingzs.

Well, Pamputtae did seckle His Royal Nuffness.

You tink a chattingz?????

Some sinting wha Pamputtae chat no normal. She dun him. All next year this time Nuffy cyaan recover.

Nuffy with the mouth that rhyme with PATTY; Nuffy whose private part was done things that only a woman should do to a man (if they are so inclined), but in this case it was a man dressed as a woman who was doing these abominable things to His Royal Nuffness.

All of this is according to our girl Pamputtae.

Nuffy, we hear say you a hide under you bed. Nuffy, come from under the bed and defend yourself.

A 14-year-old boy in Northern Ireland has been charged with attempting to possess a sub-machine gun and 100 rounds of ammunition, after he was reportedly told by a Jamaican man to collect the items.

A report in the Belfast Telegraph says the teenager was detained during a police operation on Thursday. Police said he had handed over £150 for the ammunition to an operative, believing he could later purchase a machine gun. The accused appeared before a Magistrate's Court on Saturday, flanked by his father and three police officers.

During an interview with police, the boy provided a prepared statement naming a Jamaican man who he said had asked him to collect ammunition and a deactivated gun. He said he had ordered these on the Internet.

The only living Wailer, Bunny Wailer, celebrated a milestone 70 years old on Monday April 10 and the Reggae music pioneer told Yardflex that he enjoyed the day immensely.

"I am just here chilling out and enjoying some live music. Brushy One String is here playing his guitar and the vibes are great," a youthful sounding Bunny Wailer told Yardflex.

Neville O'Riley Livingston, stage name Bunny Wailer (Jah B)he surviving founding member of The Wailers has dedicated 55 years of service to the development and preservation of Jamaica's musical genres. Jah B's earthstrong activities will overlap with the inauguration of Rastafari Month.

The month long celebration will include a dinner dance celebration launch of WailerSka Lifestyle Brand honouring The Wailers & Skatalites starting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Saturday will see a beach clean-up and community interactive session. Then, there will be a media launch of The Wailer's Museum, celebrating the life and legacy of Bunny Wailer at 10:00 a.m. at the Bournemouth Beach Complex.

The activities will culminate with a Bunny Wailer/Wailers tribute one love concert on April 22 at 10:00 p.m., celebrating the 39th Anniversary of The One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in 1978.

Having released the debut single from his destined-for-success 14-track album, Ideologies, Rastafarian singer Droop Lion is enthusiastically looking forward to taking his all-embracing message of love and unity to the entire music world.

The first single, Have You Ever Seen The Rain, was released on all digital platforms on March 15, and, already music critics have been hailing it as "a true masterpiece" and a "reggafied work of art", proving to Droop Lion and his team that their decision to use this song as the lead single was indeed on point. Well, truth be told, Have You Ever Seen The Rain has already sold over 25 million copies during the decade of the seventies for the original singers, roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival. However, this version, while not straying far from the original, still manages to give fans that signature Droop Lion sound, feel and appeal.

"We wanted to keep the nostalgia in the song, so during the production we refrained from changing up the lyrics, but at the same time, we made subtle changes which infused a different kind of vibration in the song. But, at the end of the day, we all know that a classic is a classic and you can't improve on that, you can only interpret and hope that fans will appreciate your interpretation," explained Droop Lion, who noted that he was looking forward to meeting the original singers/song-writer.

Meanwhile, the Free People Entertainment recording artiste continues his exciting musical journey with what will be predominantly a media tour, which kicks off on May 12 and runs through to May 28. He will traverse through Europe, making stops along the way in countries including the UK, France, Germany, Finland , Spain and Italy. Noting that the aim is to solidify his already burgeoning status on the European continent, Droop Lion was full of praise for his fans there who, he says continue to show his amazing love.

"It is always a joy to be in Europe," he said. "The respect and admiration is mutual and I am really looking forward to connecting with the members of the media and through them, speak to my fans. Just want to give a shout out to all the media people all over who have been gracious enough to give us air time, print space and your overall support. It means a lot to me," stated the singer, who emerged as one of the leading voices of a new reggae-soul movement. Droop Lion added that fans in Europe will see him in action on May 14 when he is scheduled to perform in London.

Miami music producer and alleged drug dealer Harrison "Cuban Harry" Garcia is on trial for federal drug charges, this after Homeland Security investigators nabbed the 26-year-old in a sting. In the trial, it has come forth that Lil Wayne and Chris Brown's affiliation with Garcia is now under investigation.

The Miami Herald reports that federal authorities are examining a $15,000 wire transfer Brown made to Garcia's bank account in 2016 that was allegedly used to purchase "lean" and other drugs. The paper adds that Garcia admitted to investigators that he sold "a lot of narcotics" to Lil Wayne, according to a federal agent's testimony on Thursday.

Garcia's attorney attempted to get the agent to elaborate on his client's confession but was refused after he cited that there's still an open investigation. The authorities believe that Garcia's high-flying lifestyle that he promoted on Instagram was supplanted by a hidden drug operation.

Veteran soundman Lloyd Coxsone of London's Sir Coxsone's Outernational recently did a 18-minute video interview criticizing popular radio disc jockey David Rodigan. Coxsone blasts Rodigan calling him "David Rob And Gone" and "a one-hour radio selector" with no sound.

He challenges Rodigan to name one Jamaican artiste who Rodigon has given the break in the United Kingdom. Speaking on behalf of the 500 sound systems of the UK, Lloyd calls for more respect from Jamaicans for his and other sounds' work during times of open racism and police brutality. Rodigan has been in the news lately following the release of his book.

So, dancehall singjay I-Octane has been left off the Reggae Sumfest line-up for 2017. So what?????? Yeah, he closed it for two years and he did well and all of that...yaadi daa da....Time to give other good (and better) artistes a time to shine.

As expected, mix-up-selector-who-have-axe-fi-grine ....yes big foot Foota Hype who always a put him foot inna him mouth.. ... a join up wid some a Octane igle fans dem and a try mek a big ting outta it.

Foota, why you doan try see if Joe will give you a work pon Sumfest. Oops! How could we forget. Joe nuh did dash out Foota from Downsound.

So it looks like Foota nah go get nu wuk pon suimfest either.

Well we deh deh pon we eyelash. Di two night dem have on bare heavyweight artiste. Reggae Sumfest to di flippin' werl!! Joe do yuh tine. Same way suh!!!!!

Don't ask if Pamputtae neva give it to Nuffy over the whole Shenseea argument.

Now, after Pamputtae mek her statement that some artiste a get some big push and dem cyaan even perform the whole a social media tek it up and a chat how Pam a throw wud pon Shenseea. Den the Mr Nuffness himself, Nuffy, no do nutten more that tek Pamputtae picture and Shenseea picture side by side and start run off him nuff mout. Bout Pamputtae fi low di girl and a chat up bare tingzs.

Well, Pamputtae did seckle His Royal Nuffness.

You tink a chattingz?????

Some sinting wha Pamputtae chat no normal. She dun him. All next year this time Nuffy cyaan recover.

Nuffy with the mouth that rhyme with PATTY; Nuffy whose private part was done things that only a woman should do to a man (if they are so inclined), but in this case it was a man dressed as a woman who was doing these abominable things to His Royal Nuffness.

All of this is according to our girl Pamputtae.

Nuffy, we hear say you a hide under you bed. Nuffy, come from under the bed and defend yourself.

Fifty-three-year-old businesswoman, Janett Moore, and her 19-year-old daughter, Tajona Rhoden both of a Pheonix Park, Dunbeholden, St. Catherine who were shot dead on Wednesday night, had been victims of a violent attack more than 15 years ago.

Moore's common law husband Wilfred Rhoden stabbed her several times and left her for dead on Old Stony Hill Road.

He then went to the family home in Kencot and inflicted wounds on Tajona and her two sisters seriously injuring them before he killed himself.

The police are investigating the killing of the two women, who were found suffering from gunshot wounds on Wednesday night.

The Office of the Children's Registry (OCR) is reporting that it recorded more than 13,000 cases of child abuse for the period January to December 2015. It said it received reports of child abuse for 18 out of every 1,000 children living in Jamaica in 2015. This represents an 18.7 per cent increase over the previous year.

Greig Smith, Registrar at the OCR, made the revelation at Thursday morning's launch of National Child Month at GraceKennedy's headquarters in downtown Kingston. Smith said more than 9,000 of the cases represented children who were reported to the OCR for the first time.

"Persons still fear of the 'informer fi dead' culture but persons are coming. Henceforth, we would have recorded over 13,000, close to 14,000 cases compared to 11,900-plus the previous year. So more persons are really coming out to talk."

He urged, "What we really want to encourage is more chidren also because we are still seeing less than two per cent of the children still making the point"

He said there is still no system in place at the registry to determine how many of these reported cases have led to a prosecution.

Earlier this week news surfaced online claiming that Suge Knight has revealed that his ex-wife Sharitha Golden and his former head of security at Death Row Records Reggie Wright Jr. are both responsible for the murder of Tupac Shakur. The Daily Mail was one of the major news outlets that reported the story claiming that Knight thinks that he was the target in the murder of the late rapper.

Knight's son has since weighed in on social media dismissing the reports as false. "My father was the Big protective brother of Pac," Jacob Knight wrote on Instagram. "If he knew anybody was after him he wouldnt have pac with him in the first place. These rumors are selfish and its unecessary. When you look who is trying to profit off of causing chaos in my family its somebody who doesnt know nor care about my family. Fake news will never get attention but people will stop trying to make a quick dollar off my family, especially off lies. Only negative black stories get broadcasted I see, smh. MY FATHER NEEDS HIS FAMILY AND HIS CIVIL RIGHTS BACK BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT A DOCUMENTARY. #FreeSuge."

Suge Knight's lawyer, Thaddeus Culpepper, also confirmed that his client did not make the statement as reported in the media nor did he made any such statement on behalf of his client. The former Death Row Records head is currently in jail awaiting trial for murder. Tupac Shakur has been in the news a lot lately with several of his memorabilia turning up on auction websites for sale including his handwritten lyrics, nose studs and even the car that he was murdered in. His biopic movie All Eyez On Me is set for premiere this summer in theaters.

The music video for Body, the new collab from Sean Paul and Migos has already been shot, preceding the actual release of the single .

The dancehall hitmaker and the Atlanta rap trio converged on Miami earlier this week. They were spotted on set along with a bunch of females in carnival outfits signaling a fun filled video coming for the summer. Sean Paul's longtime producer and close friend Don Corleon is the producer behind the upcoming single "Body." A release date is not yet known, but sources have confirmed with DHH that it could arrive any day now.

"Video shoot vybz today with @duttypaul @migos @quavohuncho @yrntakeoff @offsetyrn [Sean Paul, Migos, Quavo, Takeoff, Offset] #Body coming soon," Corleon wrote on IG. The video was shot in sunny South Beach and it looks like the set was just fun filled. One of the clips shows the dancehall legend filming a scene with Quavo and some females clad in their carnival outfits dancing.

Sean Paul was perhaps the biggest comeback story in music in 2016 with a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with his feature on Sia's massive hit "Cheap Thrills." He also scored a number of other hits including "Tek Weh Yuh Heart" with Tory Lanez and "Rockabye" with Clean Bandit and singer Anne Marie. Certainly, he is looking to repeat the same success this year.

Migos is also hot off a great year with the release of their new album CULTURE and their mega hit single "Bad and Boujee" turning them into a household name. After inking a new recording deal with Island Records, Sean Paul is well on his way to dropping his new album. The project is yet to be titled and there is no release date so far, but his fans are expecting it sometime this year. Sean Paul is popping for sure right now internationally and there are no signs of him slowing down.

Just-released-from-prison rapper,XXXTentacion is advising OVO boss Drake to stop being a culture vulture.

"Tell this pu*** ni*** Drake stop speaking patois," XXXTentacion said. "You are not Jamaican and am a real fu***** Jamaican am from fu**** Kingston, all of my family are from Kingston, so stop stealing my people's culture. Get the f*** up off our d**k because we don't claim you," the rapper shouted on social media ina rather long-winded rant.

Since leaving jail last week Friday, the Florida rapper has been going off on Drake and even disrespecting the Toronto rapper's mother on Twitter. Their beef stemmed from Drake allegedly stealing his flow "Look At Me" flow for his More Life single "KMT" featuring London rapper Giggs. On his last two albums, Drake taps heavily into dancehall and that has been working for him because he is currently the biggest selling rapper on the planet.

X also issued a challenge to Drake to record a whole album or even three songs that don't sound like anybody else he will walk through the streets naked.

Drake fans and members of his OVO crew have been pushing back on XXXTentacion saying that he is just seeking some attention and Drake is not giving it to him.

Following Lisa Hanna's bombshell revelations in Parliament on Tuesday, in which she called out the Culture Ministry for a myriad of ills, ranging from nepotism to reckless spending, the Minister of Culture, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has responded with a release slamming Hanna for her "hypocritical and irresponsible .... presentation which had the effect of besmirching professionals, alarming our partners and demotivating our volunteers".

See full text of Grange's letter below:

"I have noted the accusations mentioned in the presentation by the Member of Parliament for South East St Ann, Lisa Hanna, during the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives today (Tuesday).

I categorically reject the allegations of wrongdoing and will seek to provide a comprehensive response in the House.

The allegations of wrongdoing relate to the use of a consultant by the JCDC and the establishment of a Secretariat in the Ministry to coordinate activities to mark Jamaica 55 -- which is an expanded programme.

That the Member has chosen to allege wrongdoing on that basis is too extraordinary to be believed as during the tenure of the Member as Minister of Youth and Culture (between 2012 and 2016):

the same consultant was engaged by the JCDC; and the Minister maintained a Secretariat to coordinate activities to mark Jamaica 50, including the sale of commemorative pins.

At last count we found tens of thousands of pins hidden at various locations across the island and overseas. The investigation is continuing.

The hiring of consultants at the JCDC pre-dates my leadership as Minister and has been a necessary support resource to the Commission in the execution of its mandate.

The mind boggles at the thought that this Member, who fired the Project Director for Jamaica 50 Secretariat on assuming office and hired another at twice the pay, is now the one coming to the Parliament to tell the nation that she found a culture of extravagance.

The Member was hypocritical and irresponsible in her presentation which had the effect of besmirching professionals, alarming our partners and demotivating our volunteers.

I give the assurance to the nation that we are managing a credible programme in compliance with applicable rules and regulations including those that govern procurement."

Spokesperson on Information, Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna, had some shocking revelations to share at her sectoral presentation Tuesday as she exposed the reckless and excessive spending in the Olivia 'Babsy' Grange-led ministry.

Hanna ripped apart the culture of extravagance at the Culture Ministry and opened what can only be described as a huge can of worms as she questioned nepotism at the ministry, the function of the JCDC and, quite interestingly, the necessity of a Jamaica 55 Secretariat, among other things.

Sections of Hanna's presentation in Parliament can be read below:

"...I was overjoyed to hear the prime minister of Jamaica punctuate his 2017 budget speech with a firm commitment to fiscal discipline.

He said, "As an independent country, we must be disciplined in managing our own fiscal affairs. The only way... is to better manage the tax revenue we raise; plug the leaking revenues we don't raise [while] growing the economy."

But, Mr Speaker, I'm forced to ask, does he believe his own words? If he does, he seems to be the only cabinet member believing.

Despite my relatively few years in politics, I've noticed a "money-mek-fi-spend" philosophy has overtaken our governance structures. Some don't seem able to distinguish between campaign funds and taxpayers' resources.

What might be just cavalier when spending campaign funds becomes otiose, uncaring, incongruous and just plain old-fashioned dishonest as custodians of taxpayers money.

Take for example the over $440 million allocated to the Ministry of Culture this year by the GOJ for Emancipendence/Heritage Week Celebrations. This is over 100 per cent more than last year's budget of $191 million. Of that $440m, only $60million has been ear-marked for the JCDC whose mandate, as prescribed in The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Act is to:

•promote cultural programmes and activities in communities throughout the Island;

• encourage and organise each year independence anniversary celebrations and other celebrations marking occasions of national interest etc.

That miniscule $60 million allocation to the JCDC is stated expressly in the budget to be for "promotion of cultural activities", more specifically restricted in a liner note to "promote at the local and national level the unearthed talents in the performing and visual arts".

So, with a sleight-of-hand, fully 85 per cent of the JCDC's statutory mandate has been removed from that agency and it has been limited to conducting music and drama festivals for children island-wide -- all this despite the JCDC Act neither being amended nor repealed.

So, Mr Speaker where has the rest of the $440m gone? The budget has allocated that money to the Ministry of Culture to "assist in the promotion of events commemorating Independence Day including the Grand Gala, Emancipation Day and National Heritage Week".

For those of you who might have missed it, there is an obscure note to the estimates of expenditure reserving $200 million of the $380 million remaining specifically for "Jamaica 55 Project."

But Mr Speaker, only you can help me to understand how, somehow, despite the presence of the JCDC, with its specific statutory remit, despite a fully staffed, budgeted for Ministry, despite the prime minister's commitment to fiscal responsibility, a separate creature called a "Jamaica 55 secretariat" has been established by Minister Grange to do the JCDC's job which is to plan and execute the festivities.

Is this how you plug the leaks in government expenditure or is this how you ensure that it is leaked to the right place?

I regret to report, Mr Speaker, that this is not the first time. A pattern seems to be developing in this ministry whereby established state agencies are bypassed in favour of personal consultants.

Mr Speaker, an external consultant was contracted to, in the words of his proposal letter (a copy of which I have) to "act as artistic director" for the 2016 Grand Gala.

The letter is dated May 27, 2016 and by June 22 the contract was awarded lock stock and barrel. The consultant's asking fee of $15 million dollars was adopted without negotiation. This fee was charged to design costumes, for choreography, team leadership "artistic direction" and to provide production assistants all of which could easily have been done by the JCDC at no cost.

My information is that the Ministry of Culture provided the production assistants promised by this Consultant, but not delivered and then arranged for the JCDC to pay an additional $2 million for these assistants. The end result was that $17 million was paid for expertise and services already available in the JCDC.

I have a copy of his contract. It provided for a contract period of June 16 to August 14, 2016 and for payment of 50 per cent of the fee on signing; another 25 per cent seven days after signing and the balance "within 7 days after implementation and submission of final report."

Yet I have right here a document headed "invoice" dated July 15, 2016. It is a very ragged and unprofessional letter written to the JCDC demanding full payment of the $15 million and the due date on the Invoice is July 15, 2016 the same date as the date of the so-called "invoice".

This invoice fails to specifically describe any of the services or to itemize how the fee is chargeable vis-a-vis each service but simply repeats the vague description of services in the Proposal letter and demands full payment. This payment was made three weeks before the Grand Gala even took place. The final cost of Grand Gala 2016 $65 million.

This "artistic director" is the same consultant whose company, is owned 50/50 with a partner. The said partner had been engaged to head the Jamaica50 Secretariat at the Ministry of Culture in 2011.

When I took over the Ministry in 2012, I found a project proposal from this partner to spend $2.5 billion. I recall the former and current minister's public outrage when the plan to implement that proposal was foiled and discarded.

This culture of extravagance had to change and, by 2015, I was able to put a stop to this "money-mek-fi-spend' culture that I inherited in 2012.

We began as soon as I took office and gradually brought the gala costs down closer to sanity. In 2015, our policies had succeeded in reducing the gala cost to $40million. We did this by using the state agencies that were in place and dispensing with these expensive external consultants.

Now, as soon as the government changes, this same consultant returns to this same ministry in 2016 and is able to burst the budget pipe so big that the leak becomes a flood! In 2016, the gala cost had already increased to $65 million. Is this the "fiscal responsibility" of which the prime minister spoke?

Mr. Speaker, I'm reliably informed that the artistic director's business partner who prepared the Jamaica 50 $2.5billion proposal is now the current minister's paid senior advisor whose responsibilities include the Jamaica 55 project.

As such, perhaps it would cause some discomfort had any part of the 2016 Grand Gala tender come in on his company's letterhead so his business partner, the artistic director, was awarded a $15m contract in his personal capacity in a most non-transparent process.

Now that one of the business partners controls "Jamaica 55" project imagine what kind of contract a bloated budget of over $380 million can be accommodated for the artistic director?

Is this how the prime minister defines "fiscal responsibility"?

Mr Speaker why is Jamaica 55 a milestone year in any event? Didn't the Prime Minister say that we must "be disciplined in managing our own fiscal affairs" and "better manage the tax revenue we raise"? Is this a national or a political priority? If the invitation to the Jamaica 55 launch at Vale Royal tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 5) is anything to go by, this "milestone" year of independence will be a grand affair.

Can I propose to the prime minister, that he begin with Jamaica 55 in exercising his newly found spiritual conversion to fiscal discipline? What's the role of the Jamaica 55 secretariat? From where does its authority to spend taxpayers' funds (or even advise on its spending) arise?

Are the Jamaica 55 funds being spent painstakingly to the adherence of the Government Procurement Rules? What's the purpose of a "consultant" when the JCDC has a Board with a clear statutory remit? When will all this end? Are going to see a "Jamaica 56" secretariat next year? Perhaps the role of the JCDC Board has been usurped. No one with any management knowledge would expect the current board with its 31 members to be effective or efficient.

Furthermore, it's my understanding that this current board suffers from the same "money-mek-fi-spend" virus. They have not only increased board fees to themselves, but done so retroactively.

Blow to prime minister's credibility

Prime Minister, your credibility has already taken a blow, having told people that the $1.5 million give back would be revenue-neutral and having flip-flopped on your opposition to sourcing funds from the NHT.

The Ministry of Culture's questionable actions exacerbate this credibility deficit and make a further mockery of the PM's stated commitment to fiscal discipline.

If the PM is serious about better management of the tax revenue we raise, then he should start in the Ministry of Culture and with a tightening of the exclusions under 1.2.1 in the Procurement Guidelines Handbook which were intended to cover creative and artistic choice only, but have been stretched beyond reasonable limits to allow for the procurement of management and consultancy services without transparency.

Government has cut the budgets for CHASE and the Student Loan Bureau by $222 million yet people are expecting to extract "the last pound of flesh" from the pockets of most, if not all Jamaicans, especially the poorest of the poor.

These people won't be content to exchange their last pound of flesh to attend ad hoc Independence activities intended to make them feel good when they can't pay their child's "free school fee" or money to pay the increased property taxes.

But the truth is, until we get rid of this "money-mek-fi-spend culture", we will never have the resources to help our youth and hone our cultural talents.

Plus all the speeches we make as politicians will be useless rhetoric. Mr Speaker, as elected MPs we have a responsibility for nation building.

On this side, we see nation building as investing in our institutions and in our human capital. It is clear from the intentional actions of this government that wasteful extravagance of our taxpayers money is the order of the day and they are more intent on benefiting a "few special friends".

We saw it in when they appointed only one "special" Jamaican contractor as the subcontractor to the Chinese for all-island infrastructural work under the JDIP, we saw it again when they appointed a few "special" contractors for the $800 million all-island bushing programme, and we see it again here in the Ministry of Culture with this "special artistic director" and the $200 million Jamaica 55 secretariat.

Mr Speaker, our citizens are watching us more closely than ever before and they can see through the smoke and mirrors that are used to intentionally obscure this perpetual "money-mek-fi-spen" culture that this administration seemingly can't do without.

Reputed leader of the notorious Klansman gang, Tesha Miller, was deported from The Bahamas yesterday, however reports are that the elusive gangster had carried the cops in The Bahamas around the fairy-tale mulberry bush for a month, in their attempt to find out exactly who he was.

Miller, who had been wanted for questioning by the Jamaican authorities, ended up in the Bahamas, but it was only his Jamaican accent that gave the fugitive away, after a long month during which he gave several aliases to the cops in The Bahamas.

After they recognised his Jamaican accent they contacted the Jamaican authorities and Tesha Miller's cover was blown wide open.

Last week Tuesday, news surfaced that Miller had been caught in The Bahamas and was scheduled for deportation the following day, but it was many days before the fugitive gangster was sent home. Miller was deported from Nassau, the capital, on a 2:40 pm flight.

His expulsion comes almost a year after he was deported from the United States, where he spent two years in prison on a charge of illegal entry.

Members of the police force are now closely monitoring sections of the St Catherine North Division and surrounding areas following the deportation of reputed Clansman Gang leader Tesha Miller from The Bahamas on Tuesday.

The police division includes volatile communities in the vicinity of Spanish Town - such as Thompson Pen, Tredegar Park, St John's Road, Rivoli and De La Vega City - where the Clansman Gang operates.

Miller was in police custody up to Wednesday morning. Police said he was scheduled to be deported last week Tuesday but the deportation was delayed because of security reasons. He was held by Bahamas authorities last month after entering the Caribbean island illegally.

The alleged gangster was deported from the United States last year. Months after his return, he was named as a person of interest by Jamaica's Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) and asked to turn in himself to the authorities.

Detectives reportedly believed Miller could assist them in their investigation of several of the murders recorded in Spanish Town and sections of Portmore during the first quarter of 2016. According to one of his relatives, Miller keeps fleeing the island because he believes his life is under threat from both the police and criminals.

A brazen kidnapping attempt of a parent by a disgruntled former employee led to gunshots being fired on the compound of St Andrew Preparatory School on Cecelio Ave in Half-Way Tree Wednesday morning.

Police sources say no one was injured in the shooting.

The drama unfolded at the nearly 100 thousand dollars per term preparatory school after the mother dropped her child off at school and was surprised by the gunman who reportedly forced his way into the woman's car. Police reports are that the woman, whose name is being withheld, drove the car onto the school compound and crashed it into another vehicle before escaping.

Police sources say a licensed firearm holder, who was watching the incident unfold, then challenged the gunman and the shootout ensued.

A funeral has been held for the elderly black man who was allegedly stabbed to death by a sword-wielding "white supremacist" in New York City.

Timothy Caughman, 66, was fatally wounded during the 22 March attack, which took place while he was collecting bottles for recycling. Caughman was stabbed from behind - in the back and the chest - his injuries discovered when he staggered into a nearby police station. He was rushed to hospital, but later died from his wounds.

Speaking at the funeral, New York mayor Bill de Blasio said Caughman should be a symbol of the fight against racism, the Associated Press reported.

Alleged white supremacist James Jackson has been charged with one count each of murder in the first and second degrees as an act of terrorism in connection with the case. Authorities claim Jackson, from Baltimore, travelled to New York to target black men, allegedly in order to make a statement against interracial relationships.

"James Jackson prowled the streets of New York for three days in search of a black person to assassinate in order to launch a campaign of terrorism against our Manhattan community and the values we celebrate," District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said in a statement following the indictment.

"Last week, with total presence of mind, he acted on his plan, randomly selecting a beloved New Yorker solely on the basis of his skin colour, and stabbing him repeatedly and publicly on a Midtown street corner. James Jackson wanted to kill black men, planned to kill black men, and then did kill a black man."

The names of the those killed during Sunday morning's hacking incident in Norwood, St James have been revealed by the police.

They are 60-year-old Lascelles Bracket, who is said to be the perpetrator of the hacking, and his victim 62-year-old Herman Pryce.

Three other victims remain in hospital in serious condition.

The police say the incident took place about 10:30 a.m. yesterday in a shop when Bracket demanded to be served for a second time after he had been already served. He pulled a machete and chopped three elderly men who were also in the shop.

Police say he ran into a house where he chopped Pryce, a maintenance worker who lived in the dwelling.

Residents who came to Pryce's assistance were also attacked. Bracket was subsequently mobbed and killed by the residents.

Pryce was taken to hospital, along with the other injured men, where he was pronounced dead.

Although the 70-year-old actor directed the first movie in the franchise and starred in all three, he has decided not to return for the fourth movie, due to creative differences with Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner over the script and director.

The Expendables 4' was set to reunite series staples Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dolph Lundgren.

Stallone who has also directed the 'Rambo' and the 'Rocky' franchises, helmed the first 'Expendables' back in 2010.

Simon West took over the reins for 'Expendables 2' and Patrick Hughes on 'Expendables 3'.

Stallone has continued to star in front of the camera in all the films alongside regulars; Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Jet Li, Bruce Willis and Wesley Snipes.

Tyrese Gibson was once the man crush Monday for women across the planet but these days the singer/actor is living a quiet life off the market.

Last month, Tyrese confirmed that he secretly got married to his girlfriend Samantha Lee. We've learned that the two got married on Valentine's Day after only been dating for around a year and a half, TMZ reported. Samantha is also of Jamaican and Ecuadorian and was recently on the island vacationing. Since announcing their marriage, both Tyrese and Samantha have been getting some backlash from his legion of female fans on social media.

Some of the actor's fans are angry that he portray her as his "black queen" when she is not 100% black. Despite the criticisms, Tyrese promises to keep his married life private for the most part except for the occasional updates on social media. "So many people give a lot of power to "The Ring" as a man I had to wait till I truly truly felt like my WORDS and my FEET would walk in the same direction as my HEART," he wrote. "Not to worry I won't be updating you guys on every detail and every aspect of our life."

During her recent interview with Anthony Miller on ER, Spice opened up about being the top female dancehall artist in the game. "I am the only female to have gain over 70 million views on a single song, so I would definitely say that I am the top female right now," she said.

When asked about who she thinks the king of dancehall is right now, she vehemently say it's incarcerated deejay Vybz Kartel, with whom she has previously collaborated with. "Everybody know say a Gaza me say and not because Vybz Kartel is incarcerated doesn't mean am going to turn my back on him and start say someone else, because a lot of fans jump ship," Spice told Miller. "Am going to stay loyal because Vybz Kartel gave me my first international record 'Romping Shop' so I am not going to switch."

Spice also said that she thinks Vybz Kartel will be freed in his upcoming appeal case.

Grammy-winning Reggae artiste, Stephen Marley makes gis appearance on two new international collabs. Rapper Pitbull included Marley on his new album Climate Change with Options, while legendary rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony dropped the single Coming Home.

Pitbull's Options lends itself to Stephen Marley's catchy vocals for the chorus as well highlights Jamaica and its party culture in the recently released music video that has over two million views on Youtube, two weeks after its debut. Pitbull and Marley will perform Options on WrestleMania this Sunday, April 2.

Stephen Marley is now on tour in the United States, promoting his 19-track fourth studio album Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life. The album features a number of local stars.

Back in December she filed to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian, ahead of her marriage to Rob.

However it has now been reported that Blac Chyna has been denied the rights to the name - following a battle with Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian in court.

According to TMZ, the 28-year-old has been blocked from using the name whether she marries on/off ex Rob, 30, or not - after the three sisters opposed the decision in order to stop Blac profiting from the family name.

Months before she and Rob welcomed the birth of their daughter Dream, Blac filed to trademark the name Angela Renee Kardashian.

However in December it was reported by TMZ that sisters Kim, Khloe and Kourtney moved to block the curvaceous star from using the name in future business ventures.

An airline pilot who was so drunk he appeared to pass out in the cockpit before takeoff was sentenced on Monday to eight months in jail in Canada.

Miroslav Gronych, 37, pleaded guilty last month to having care and control of an aircraft while he had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

The Slovakian pilot was escorted off a Sunwing Airlines plane in Calgary on December 31 before a flight scheduled to end in Cancun, Mexico.

The court heard that when Gronych got on the plane, he struggled to hang up his coat, was slurring his words and was staggering. The court was also told the co-pilot suggested Gronych should leave the plane, but he eventually returned to the cockpit, sat down and appeared to pass out with his face resting on the window.

Judge Anne Brown also banned Gronych from flying for one year after his release. She noted he has been in treatment for alcoholism, has abstained from drinking since the event and has been "thoroughly shamed."

The court heard that Gronych, who is married and has two young children, has lost his job.

The defense had asked for a three- to six-month sentence while the prosecution asked the judge to give Gronych one year in jail.

His defense lawyer told the court last month that Gronych couldn't sleep the night before his flight and felt like he was coming down with a cold. He took a couple of shots of vodka and a Tylenol, and planned to wake up in time to let people know he wouldn't make the flight. He didn't set an alarm and was awakened by a call asking him where he was, his lawyer said. He drank the rest of the bottle of vodka and left for the flight.

When police arrived, they found his pilot's wings were pinned upside down. They smelled alcohol on his breath and he couldn't stand up straight.

Sunwing ,a low-cost Canadian carrier, has said it has a zero tolerance policy on crew members consuming alcohol within 12 hours of going on duty.

The jury is still out on whether or not there is any truth to online reports that jailed run-di-oplace deejay, Vybz Kartel has given his life to God. A popular website claims to have the complete text of a letter allegedly sent to popular Irie FM personality, Mutabaruka. from the pen of Addi the Teacher. Please note, however, that Yardflex sources have confiormed that Muta has received no such letter. Anyway, please see text of alleged letter below:

"I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off me. Like the woman at the well, I was searching for things that could not satisfy, but glory be to the most high God, I am now drinking from a well that can never run dry.

To all my family, friends and fans out there who are missing me and longing to see me, have no fear, if it is God's will, it will be done and you will see me soon. But do not get too caught up in Vybz, seek and find Jesus Christ and you will have all that you need. I wish for you the peace that I have found. Please seek and find Jesus Christ. My baptism is in the work and I am just waiting on the prison's Chaplin to provide me with a baptism date. I love you and I will see you soon. I no longer want to be called "world boss". God is the boss of the world and I am his child. Almighty God mi seh... Adijah Palmer."